Jury decides Apple should pay $300 million in patent dispute

Apple must pay $300 million in royalties following a retrial in a patent dispute, a Texas jury determined Friday. As reported by Reuters, the jury found that Apple should pay patent company Optis Wireless Technology and its related companies because the technology Apple used in its iPhones, iPads, and Watches allegedly infringed Optis’ patents.

Last year, a jury awarded Optis $506 million in the dispute, but a judge vacated that award in April, and ordered a new trial focused on damages only. US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap said the first jury had not been allowed to consider whether the amount was awarded on the “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory,” or FRAND, terms required in standard-essential patent cases.

The five patents involved in the case once belonged to LG, Panasonic, and Samsung, The Register reported, but were obtained by Optis.

An Apple spokesperson wrote in an email to The Verge on Sunday that the company was disappointed by the verdict and plans to appeal. “Optis makes no products and its sole business is to sue companies using patents they accumulate,” the spokesperson wrote. “We will continue to defend against their attempts to extract unreasonable payments for patents they acquire.”

Last month Apple reported record third-quarter revenue of $81.4 billion.

Update August 15th 12:10PM ET: Added comment from Apple spokesperson