Technology
Apple Ordered to Pay $533 Million for Patent Infringement
In this Saturday, Jan. 3, 2015 photo, shoppers walk by the Apple Store along the the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
(Reuters) – Apple Inc. has been ordered to pay $532.9 million after a federal jury in Texas found that its iTunes software infringed three patents owned by patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC.
Though Smartflash had been asking for $852 million in damages, Tuesday night’s verdict was still a blow to Apple.
The jury, which deliberated for eight hours, determined Apple had not only used Smartflash’s patents without permission, but did so willfully.
Apple, which said it would appeal, said the outcome was another reason reform was needed in the patent system to curb litigation by companies that don’t make products themselves.
