Apple Threatens To Leave The UK Over Patent Troll Lawsuit

From time to time, we see corporations file lawsuits towards different corporations over very broad and imprecise patents, claiming that they had been infringed upon. Usually these corporations, often called patent trolls, hope that the troublesome nature of the lawsuit and the vagueness of their patents will drive the opposite firm to shortly settle.

Sometimes these lawsuits do make it to courtroom, like within the case of Apple within the UK who was sued by Optis Cellular Technology and misplaced, wherein they’re now going through $7 billion in damages owed. Now clearly Apple will pay that quantity, however it’s nonetheless an enormous quantity and we think about that that is one thing the corporate most likely desires to keep away from paying if potential, even when it means threatening to exit the UK market.

This is as a result of evidently ought to Apple depart the UK market, they won’t be on the hook for the damages that they may must pay. While some, akin to Mr. Justice Meade, have expressed their skepticism that Apple would exit the UK market over this, Apple’s authorized illustration, Marie Demetriou, prompt that they won’t have a alternative if it turns into “commercially unacceptable”.

According to Demetriou, “I am not sure that is right… Apple’s position is it should indeed be able to reflect on the terms and decide whether commercially it is right to accept them or to leave the UK market. There may be terms that are set by the court which are just commercially unacceptable.”

Of course, whether or not or not the corporate does determine to depart stays to be seen and it’s not a call that they’d make evenly given all of the ramifications, however it’s fairly a daring menace to make.

Filed in Apple >General. Read extra about Legal and Patent. Source: thisismoney