Trapped In A Patent Case, Apple Can Be Expelled From The UK

Marie Demetriou, Apple attorney (photo: doc. brickcourt.co.uk)

JAKARTA - Apple's lawyers have warned that the iPhone maker could leave the UK if a court orders it to pay "commercially unacceptable" fees to patent company Optis Cellular for alleged infringement of its 3G and 4G patents.

Apple is currently involved in a lawsuit with Optis in the UK. Apple refuses to pay the company's licensing fees for patents claiming Optical used in iPhones and other technologies. In June, a High Court judge ruled that Apple had infringed on two patents, and therefore Apple had to pay a fee.

The cost has not been determined, but This Is Money writes that the case could be a legal battle worth up to £5 billion for Apple.

In 2020, the UK Supreme Court ruled UK courts could set rates for worldwide patent payments, although courts could only consider patent infringement in the UK. The trial in 2022 will determine how much Apple will have to pay.

As for how much, Justice Meade said during a hearing in January that Apple was "probably disappointed" with the rate of fines set. Meade offered that it was unlikely that Apple would take drastic action, such as exiting the UK market, if the costs were too high, stating that "there is no evidence that it is possible" and that Apple will consider it.

Marie Demetriou, Apple's attorney, denies this. "Apple's position is that it should be able to weigh the terms and decide whether it is commercially correct to accept the fine or leave the UK market. There may be terms set by the courts that are not commercially acceptable," Demetriou said.

A court case in July will determine whether Apple must make a legally binding promise to comply with the pay rate set by a judge in a July 2022 trial. If it refuses, Apple could be barred from selling iPhones in the UK in perpetuity.

This isn't the only lawsuit involving Optis that Apple has had to face. In August 2020, a Texas federal jury ruled that Apple knowingly infringed 4G LTE patents owned by PanOptis and related companies, including Optis, and must pay a fine of 506.2 million US dollars (10 trillion rupiahs).

In April 2021, a federal judge allowed a retrial to take place, as there were "serious doubts" about the ruling.