On October 20, 2014, the Northern District Court of California found that Apple did not infringe two patents owned by GPNE Corp, a patent-holding company.
GPNE’s position was that by selling iPhones and iPads Apple infringed two patents related to technology for communicating across cellular networks. GPNE sought $94 million in damages. The jury found no infringement (read here)
Apple’s statement in full as reported by Appleinsider:
“We are pleased the jury in California saw through GPNE’s attempt to extort money from Apple for 20 year old pager patents that have expired, wasting time for everyone involved. GPNE is a patent troll with no active business other than patent litigation. They have sent more than 300 demand letters in the past year to everyone from truckers and farmers to roofers and dairies threatening costly legal entanglements if these small businesses didn’t pay them off — this isn’t right. Apple invents products that revolutionize industries, and relies upon the U.S. patent system to protect our innovation. We urge congressional leaders to continue focusing on reform in this important area of patent law”.
It is reported that GPNE is using similar patent claims to go after other tech companies, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Garmin, Nokia, Pantech, Research in Motion, Sharp, and Sony Ericsson
Verdict dated October 20, 2014, is available at: http://ia701208.us…
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