Apple to pay $308.5M for digital rights management patent infringement News
matcuz / Pixabay
Apple to pay $308.5M for digital rights management patent infringement

A jury in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas decided Friday that Apple Inc. must pay $308.5 million to Personalized Media Communications (PMC) for infringing upon a digital rights management patent.

PMC is a patent-licensing company which currently has more than 100 issued patents and pending applications. The company only licenses the patents of its founder and Chairman, John Harvey, and its licensees include companies such as Sony and Samsung.

In 2015, PMC sued Apple for infringing one of its patents associated with digital rights management. PMC alleged that Apple infringed its patent with streaming technology such as FairPlay. Apple challenged the validity of the patent, and the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) determined that the patent was invalid.

However, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the board’s decision in March 2020. In February 2021, the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas denied Apple’s motion for summary judgment, finding that Apple failed to show that the patent was directed to ineligible subject matter.

Late Friday, a federal jury directed Apple to pay PMC a running royalty. Apple reportedly plans to appeal the jury verdict.

In 2019, PMC also filed patent infringement suits against Google, Akamai and Netflix.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied in Six Days' War

On November 22, 1967, the UN Security Council called for Israeli withdrawal from territories occupied during the Six Days' War, and for respect of the right of all States in the area to "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries." Read Resolution 242, which remains a cornerstone of efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.

President Kennedy assassinated, VP Lyndon Johnson sworn inin

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Later that day, Vice-President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States. Earl Warren, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, was later tasked with leading a commission to investigate the assassination. President Johnson received the final report of the Warren Commission on September 24, 1964. Read the Warren Commission Report.