Judge Cuts Patent Licensing Company WiLan's $145.1M Award From Apple to $10M - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Judge Cuts Patent Licensing Company WiLan's $145.1M Award From Apple to $10M

by

Back in August, a California jury awarded Canadian patent holding company WiLan $145.1 million in an ongoing dispute with Apple after the iPhone was found to have infringed on two WiLan patents related to wireless communications technology.

Apple won't be paying WiLan $145.1 million, though, as the court recently decided that WiLAN must accept reduced damages of $10 million or prepare for a new trial to figure out how much Apple needs to pay.

wilan logo
The court did agree, however, that Apple infringed on the two patents, so the company will need to pay WiLan some amount in damages.

WiLan and Apple have been ordered to enter into discussions to attempt to find a resolution, and WiLan says that it remains open to a "fair and reasonable" settlement with Apple.

WiLan describes itself as "one of the most successful patent licensing companies in the world." Apple's legal dispute with WiLan started back in 2010, when WiLan claimed Apple violated one of its Bluetooth related products.

Tags: Patent Lawsuits, Patent Trials

Top Rated Comments

Kabeyun Avatar
Kabeyun
96 months ago
Apple should have bought the patents first if they wanted to use them.
Communications technology patents have become so obscure, such minutiae, that even with a multimillion dollar legal team on the payroll its hard to even know you could’ve infringed on one until a portfolio owner’s lawyer sends you a gotcha letter. “Wanting” to use them probably has nothing to do with it. That’s why there’s a clamor for patent reform legislation.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
macfacts Avatar
macfacts
96 months ago
I dream of a day when the awards for these suits are less than the cost of the patents they bought.

I’ll keep dreaming. But it’s a nice dream.
Apple should have bought the patents first if they wanted to use them.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kabeyun Avatar
Kabeyun
96 months ago
I dream of a day when the awards for these suits are less than the cost of the patents they bought.

I’ll keep dreaming. But it’s a nice dream.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
sniffies
96 months ago
I think it's fair. Apple is already losing too much money because people don't wanna upgrade their iPhones yearly. Gotta support your favorite company.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple's Next Era Begins September 1

Thursday May 7, 2026 10:36 am PDT by
Apple recently announced that Tim Cook will be stepping down as CEO later this year, after 15 years of leading the company. Effective September 1, Apple's hardware engineering chief John Ternus will become the company's next CEO, while Cook will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors. In his new role, Apple said Cook will assist with "certain aspects" of the company,...
Read Full Article
Instagram Feature 2

PSA: Instagram Encrypted Messaging Ends on Friday, May 8

Tuesday May 5, 2026 8:24 am PDT by
Instagram will remove end-to-end encryption for direct messages between users from May 8, 2026. When the date comes around, Meta will potentially be able to see the contents of all messages between users on the social media platform. Encrypting messages has been an optional feature in Instagram since 2023, but in March of this year the social media platform quietly updated a help page to say ...
Read Full Article • 54 comments
Apple Event Logo

Apple Just Released a New Accessory

Monday May 4, 2026 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today released a new Pride Edition Sport Loop for the Apple Watch. The band features a rainbow design with 11 colors of woven nylon yarns. The new Pride Edition Sport Loop is available to order now on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app in 40mm, 42mm, and 46mm sizes, and it will be available at Apple Store locations starting later this week. In the U.S., the band costs $49. There...
Read Full Article