[JURIST] Ireland’s cabinet [official website] on Friday agreed to join Apple [corporate website] in appealing the European Commission‘s [official website] €13 billion ruling [press release] against the tech giant. The commission’s ruling, issued in late August, determined that Ireland granted Apple undue tax benefits that now must be recouped. By appealing, Ireland is refusing to accept the windfall from Apple, citing an interest in protecting a tax structure very attractive to international employers.

The European Commission, a subdivision of the EU, ruled [JURIST report] the tax breaks were illegal based on EU law because the tax benefit meant that Apple paid less taxes to operate in the country than other businesses, resulting in an unfair economic advantage. The ruling is the result of an investigation going back to June 2014 [case summary]. The ruling is another setback for the communications company, which continues to face multiple legal issues. The Beijing Municipal High People’s Court ruled in May that Xintong Tiandi, a local leather goods retailer, can continue to use the phrase “iPhone” on its leather goods in a trademark case [JURIST report]. The Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau ordered Apple to stop sale of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in Beijing due to claims by Chinese regulators that Apple Inc. violated a patent [JURIST report] held by a Chinese company in June. Apple agreed in July to a $25 million settlement with Network-1 Technologies to end a patent infringement claim [JURIST report].