The legal issues of Apple continue to pile up, with the latest problem being a court order to pay the University of Wisconsin-Madison $506 million due to patent infringement.
It seems that Apple just can't catch a break, as the company is still in the middle of a major legal battle with chipmaker Qualcomm that could possibly lead to an iPhone ban in the United States.
Apple To Pay $506 Million To University Of Wisconsin-Madison
U.S. District Judge William Conley in Madison ordered Apple to pay $506 million to the patent licensing arm of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which is more than double the initial damage imposed by the jury.
The jury issued a verdict for Apple to pay $234 million to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation as damages for the lawsuit that it won against Apple back in October 2015. However, Judge Conley decided to add $272 million in damages for a total amount of $506 million, due to interest and the fact that Apple continued to infringe the patent until it expired in December 2016
The lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation dates back to 2014, when it accused Apple of infringement on a patent originally granted in 1998 for improving the efficiency of processors. A jury found that Apple processors, specifically the A7, A8, and A8X processors, were in violation of the patent. Another lawsuit has been filed against Apple's A9 chips, with the result of that case still pending.
Apple stated that it will appeal the verdict, but it will do so knowing that there are other legal issues that the company needs to handle.
Apple Legal Issues Pile Up
Apple was recently the subject of a lawsuit filed by iPhone 4S owner Xai Thao and insurance company State Farm, as she claimed that the smartphone caused a fire in her home, ironically in Wisconsin.
Thao, who purchased the iPhone 4S back in 2014, is demanding damages of $75,000 from Apple. Preliminary investigations by State Farm claimed that an internal failure by the iPhone 4S started the fire in Thao's home.
The lawsuits filed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and Xai Thao, however, pale in comparison to the legal battle that Apple is currently fighting against Qualcomm.
The legal issues between Apple and Qualcomm stem from royalties that Qualcomm charges on all modern smartphones, as they all use technology that was developed by the chipmaker. Apple launched a $1 billion lawsuit against Qualcomm in January, alleging that the chipmaker is overcharging Apple billions of dollars, and Qualcomm responded with patent infringement lawsuits against Apple.
