Apple’s lawyers warned that if the court ordered the company to pay commercially unacceptable patent licensing fees due to its infringement of patent company Optis Cellular’s 3G and 4G patents, then Apple may withdraw from the UK market.
Apple is currently involved in a lawsuit with Optis in the UK and has refused to pay Optis a license fee for patents used in the iPhone and other technologies. In June of this year, a British High Court judge ruled that Apple infringed two Optis patents and ordered it to pay license fees.
The value of this fee has not yet been determined, but the This Is Money website stated that Apple may have to pay 5 billion pounds for the use of standard smartphone technology in its products. If Apple withdraws from the UK market, then Apple will not need to pay this fee.
But the judge believes that Apple is unlikely to do so. Apple’s lawyer responded: “I’m not sure if it’s the right thing to do… Apple’s position should be a response to the terms (licensing rates) and decide whether to accept such terms from a commercial point of view is correct, or to leave the UK market. The law sets From a commercial point of view may be unacceptable.”
