UP TO $862 MILLION IN DAMAGES | Apple loses patent lawsuit

NEW YORK — Apple Inc could be facing up to $862 million in damages after a U.S. jury on Tuesday found the iPhone maker used technology owned by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s licensing arm without permission in chips found in many of its most popular devices.

The jury in Madison, Wisconsin also said the patent, which improves processor efficiency, was valid. The trial will now move on to determine how much Apple owes in damages.

Representatives for the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) and Apple could not immediately be reached for comment.


WARF sued Apple in January 2014 alleging infringement of its 1998 patent for improving chip efficiency.

The jury was considering whether Apple’s A7, A8 and A8X processors, found in the iPhone 5s, 6 and 6 Plus, as well as several versions of the iPad, violate the patent.

Cupertino, California-based Apple denied any infringement and argued the patent is invalid, according to court papers. Apple previously tried to convince the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the patent’s validity, but in April the agency rejected the bid.

According to a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge William Conley, who is presiding over the case, Apple could be liable for up to $862.4 million in damages.

He scheduled the trial to proceed in three phases: liability, damages, and finally, whether Apple infringed the patent willfully, which could lead to enhanced penalties.

WARF used the patent to sue Intel Corp in 2008, but the case was settled the following year on the eve of trial.

Last month, WARF launched a second lawsuit against Apple, this time targeting the company’s newest chips, the A9 and A9X, used in the just-released iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as the iPad Pro.

source: interaksyon.com

Apple finally opens iTunes Store in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — If you own a piece of Apple hardware and is an avid user of iTunes, lend us your ears: the Cupertino-based technology giant has finally opened its iTunes Store for downloads of music, movies and other digital content to Philippine users, as well as 11 other Asian countries beginning Wednesday.

The move effectively allows Filipino iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac and PC owners entry to a wealth of musical and theatrical content, or around 20 million songs currently available on Apple’s digital content distribution platform.

Other countries now allowed to purchase content from iTunes include Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Apple said the opening of iTunes in these countries also signal the entry of more Asian content in the platform.

“Customers can also rent or purchase movies from the iTunes Store, with many available in stunning HD, from major studios including 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, The Walt Disney Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures,” it added.

Long awaited by music and film aficionados in the Philippines, the iTunes Store revolutionized the music industry in the West as well as in other countries with the introduction of low-cost DRM-free MP3 downloads, at just $0.99 per song. It also recently allowed the renting of movies starting at $2.99, where users can keep a copy of the film for 30 days and will have 48 hours to view the film once they clicked the Play button.

Apple, however, did not mention whether it would be allowing the download of TV shows through the iTunes Store in the near future.

source: interaksyon.com