Apple Sinks ‘Submarine Patent,’ Escapes $308.5 Million Verdict
- Personalized Media’s patent is unenforceable, judge rules
- PMC had strategy to delay applications to get more money later
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Apple Inc. won a ruling that tossed out a $308.5 million patent-infringement verdict after a federal judge said the iPhone maker was the victim of a company’s plan to milk the tech industry for high royalties on old ideas.
That company, Personalized Media Communications LLC, has a patent for digital rights management that is unenforceable because the company intentionally delayed its application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office so it could get more money later, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in Marshall, Texas, ruled. Gilstrap said that Personalized Media “shall take nothing” and instead will have to cover some of Apple’s legal costs.