Before we swim the Atlantic for today’s update, we wanted to thank our new followers and readers. And if you haven’t already, we hope you’ll take a moment to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. That’s a straightforward, simple way you can help us #ExposePatentTrolls.
Now we’re off to the U.K., where Apple recently announced it might stop selling its phones in the U.K. in response to losing a recent patent troll case there.
The U.K. patent troll case involves Optis Wireless. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Apple’s done battle with them stateside, too. The prolific patent troll initially won a $506 million award against Apple in the U.S., but the judgment was appealed and ultimately overturned.
The patent troll, channeling Robert Bruce, might say, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
So, Optis Wireless did just that.
The troll promptly stomped off and filed its claims in the U.K. next. And they won. And in a second ruling by the U.K. Supreme Court, the court said, “any decision [that] is made on the amount the iPhone maker must pay would apply worldwide, not just to its U.K. sales.”
So, instead of millions, the troll is now going for billions.
Sure, the notion of Apple leaving the U.K. might seem laughable, as the judge there seemed to express to the Cupertino tech company’s lawyers this month.
But it wouldn’t be the first time for Apple to shutter stores or leave a market.
The precedent was set on that right here in Texas back in 2019.
That’s when Apple shuttered its Plano and Frisco stores in the Eastern District and promptly opened a new store in the less patent troll-friendly Northern District.
Back in the U.K., a separate court case later this month is looming, and it aims to force Apple to make “a legally binding pledge to abide by the payout rate” that will ultimately be decided at a July 2022 trial.
Who knew patent trolls could swim?
Their Atlantic Ocean Pond hopping shows patent trolls aren’t just an American problem.
They’re a global threat to American innovators and job creators.