Apple's lawyers have warned the iPhone maker could exit the UK if a court orders it to pay

Apple attorneys threaten UK market exit if court orders 'unacceptable' patent fees

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2021-07-11 18:00:06

Apple's lawyers have warned the iPhone maker could exit the UK if a court orders it to pay "commercially unacceptable" fees to patent company Optis Cellular over alleged infringement of 3G and 4G patents.

Apple is currently involved in a lawsuit with Optis in the United Kingdom, with Apple refusing to pay the firm license fees for patents Optis claims it used in the iPhone and other technologies. In June, a High Court judge ruled that Apple had infringed two of the patents, and therefore Apple should pay fees.

The value of the fees has yet to be determined, but This Is Money writes it could be a legal fight worth up to 5 billion pounds ($7 billion) to Apple.

In 2020, the UK Supreme Court ruled a UK court can set the rate for patent payments worldwide, despite the court only being able to consider the infringement of UK patents. A trial in 2022 will determine how much Apple will have to pay.

As for how much it could be, Mr Justice Meade said during a hearing in January that Apple "might be disappointed" by the set rate. Meade offered it was unlikely that Apple would perform a drastic action, such as exiting the UK market, if the fees are too high, with "no evidence it is even remotely possible" that Apple would consider it.

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