Apple to pay $ 308.5 million for technology patent infringement in iTunes



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Illustration from article titled Apple Sentenced to Pay $ 308.5 Million for Patent Infringement of Technology Used in iTunes and App Store

Photo: Lionel Bonaventure / AFP (Getty Images)

A years-old fight over the technology Apple uses in iTunes, App Store, and Apple Music has a new development. A Texas federal jury said on Friday that Apple had effectively infringed a patent for digital rights management technology owned by Personalized Media Communications. As a result, he ordered the tech giant to shell out around $ 308.5 million.

According to Bloomberg, Personalized Media Communications sued Apple for infringing its patent on FairPlay, a digital rights management technology used to distribute encrypted content from Apple’s iTunes, App Store, and Apple Music services, among other patents, among other patents .

As explained by Personalized Media Communications, a file encrypted with FairPlay, such as media content or a software application, is digitally encrypted and can only be decrypted by an authorized user device based on user-specific decryption information or At the phone. .

The trial dates back to 2015 and has seen many twists and turns. Although Apple has successfully challenged the case in the US patent office, Reuters reported, a court of appeal subsequently overturned this decision. And last week, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap denied Apple’s request to declare Personalized Media Communication’s patent invalid.

The jury trial and verdict are the latest developments but will not be the last.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said it was disappointed with the decision and would appeal.

“Cases like this, presented by companies that do not manufacture or sell any product, stifle innovation and ultimately hurt consumers,” Apple told Bloomberg.

An expert from Personalized Media Communications had set a price of $ 240 million for what Apple owed the company in royalties for the use of its technology. However, the jury ordered Apple to pay a running royalty, which is the price determined by sales of licensed products or processes.

Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment on the case on Sunday, but did not receive a response. We’ll make sure to update this blog if we do.

According to Bloomberg, Apple isn’t the only company battling Personalized Media Communications over patents. The outlet says YouTube won a patent lawsuit against Personalized Media Communications last year over various patents. Meanwhile, the company has also sued Netflix.

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