Apple must pay one other firm a good-looking quantity to maintain utilizing sure wi-fi tech. Bloomberg and The Register report {that a} Texas jury has decided that Apple should pay patent agency Optis $300 million for allegedly violating patents overlaying LTE mobile service in gadgets just like the iPhone and iPad. A jury had awarded Optis simply over $506 million in 2020, however the decide within the case ordered a damages-only trial over considerations the sooner jurors hadn’t thought of whether or not the demand was truthful for standards-based patents.

Optis can be chasing Apple within the UK, the place it hopes to set a world royalty fee that might web as much as $7 billion. Its patents come from different corporations, together with LG, Panasonic and Samsung.

Apple nonetheless intends to combat again. The tech large accused Optis of being a patent troll in a press release, noting that the agency exists solely to sue corporations utilizing bought patents. Apple would hold resisting Optis’ efforts to acquire “unreasonable payments” for patents, the iPhone maker mentioned.

As The Register notes, the $300 million payout will barely make a mark on Apple’s funds. The firm made $21.7 billion in web earnings simply in its newest quarter — the Optis fee will signify barely over in the future’s earnings. The concern, after all, is that Optis will reach getting common funds that might add to Apple’s prices and drive {hardware} costs upward.