And I do realize it's easy to say vote them out. We obviously have the same problem here.
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Apple Threatens to Leave UK Market Due to $7 Billion Patent Dispute
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"There is no evidence Apple is really going to say no [to paying the rate set by the judge], is there? There is no evidence it is even remotely possible Apple will leave the UK market?"
Apple could just raise prices in the UK to cover it so the people who buy phones in the UK (perhaps even worldwide) will be paying it. It isn't rocket science to understand that the money has to come from people somewhere, just like taxes. Corporations don't pay taxes and they don't pay judgements like this, they only collect them from the people that do. Consumers, employees and shareholders are the ones who will pay.
The only winners here are patent trolls (and the legal profession).
Apple could just raise prices in the UK to cover it so the people who buy phones in the UK (perhaps even worldwide) will be paying it. It isn't rocket science to understand that the money has to come from people somewhere, just like taxes. Corporations don't pay taxes and they don't pay judgements like this, they only collect them from the people that do. Consumers, employees and shareholders are the ones who will pay.
The only winners here are patent trolls (and the legal profession).
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The court proposes to impose penalties on Apple for infringing UK patents.
Lucky for Apple, the English are used to losing on penalties.
Oh, snap!
Lucky for Apple, the English are used to losing on penalties.
Oh, snap!
So, patent trolls, national courts exercising a global reach in their rulings… isn’t the US the world leader in both of those? How much has operating in the US cost Apple in litigation against patent trolls over the years? Yet Apple seems to accept that as a cost of doing business.
Apple also operates out of a country that tortures prisoners in violation of the geneva convention, builds walls across its borders to prevent immigrants from seeking asylum which is the exact same thing the Mayflower did, marginalises the indigenous population, deprives millions from state healthcare thanks to corporate bribes, has the highest levels of poverty in the western world and actively manipulates its citizens through the national media. What China does is very wrong but the west needs to make sure its own **** is in order before it goes hypocritically lecturing other countries.
The UK (well England) basically wrecked the entire world, refuses to even apologise for the atrocities it committed and still arrogantly believes what it did was for the good of the indigenous peoples. My country has blood on its hands, feet and face and is guilty of some of the worst human crimes in history including but not limited to the entire slave trade. We are no better than the USA and a lot worse than anything China has done recently.
Ah ha ha ha.
Anyway, Apple won't pay this. UK consumers will through higher Apple prices. The only people that will win this are patent trolls, whose usefulness to society is what exactly?
People often say this when rulings or fines increase Apple’s operating costs in a country or a region, but it isn’t true. Apple will already be selling their devices for the highest price the market will bear - if they could raise prices without it having a negative effect on sales, they would have done so already.
You believe that number? See this for an example of how it’s likely to be far out:
As of 31 May, the government had received 5.6 million applications for the post-Brexit scheme that allows EU (and EEA) nationals to continue living and working in the UK after the end of this month.
That is far higher than the official estimate when the scheme was fully opened in March 2019 that there were 3.7 million (non-Irish) EU nationals in the country.
Probably not as strong as the one the ROI has with Apple though - look how much hot water the Irish government got into with the EU about the tax incentives they give Apple
The 330,000 figure is laughable.
There's not even 30,000 people in the UK who's employment is dependent on the app store.
Apple will get laughed out of the room if they raise it in court. It seems to even include every delivery cyclist for Deliveroo!
I'm amazed you can breathe - given that you are choked up with middle class liberal guilt
Yep, this. Just up and abandoning a lucrative sales market, not to mention walking away from a huge amount of investment they've already made? Not likely. Passing on any/all increased costs? Bingo. Who benefits at our expense? The Optis patent trolls.
Yeah - as a Brit living over 10 years in the US I've been wondering for a while that perhaps we Brits in the end got the better end of that deal...Seemed to work out okay for the US back in 1776.
Bit clickbait, Apple has not suggested or threatened to leave the UK market, nothing more than lawyers comments full of rhetoric to justify what they are charging.
I’ve always felt that standards-essential patents are some of the biggest BS in the patent industry. If you’ve got a patent for something as essential as 4G LTE access, 1) you should be participating in a patent license pool with other patents over the same standard so that implementing firms can access your patent without infringement as part of a lower cost contract, and 2) your ability to charge heavy licensing fees for your patent should be more limited, relative to patents over technology that’s not part of a standard.
Imagine Intel suing Apple for patent infringement over USB standards because Apple’s migration to Apple Silicon. That’s part of why the USB patents are held in a patent pool run by the USB Forum.
Imagine Intel suing Apple for patent infringement over USB standards because Apple’s migration to Apple Silicon. That’s part of why the USB patents are held in a patent pool run by the USB Forum.
I wish all countries would just make it illegal for patent trolls to even bring cases to trial. Don’t feed the trolls.
Lawyers representing Apple have suggested that the company could exit the UK market if the terms of an ongoing patent dispute are "commercially unacceptable" (via This is Money).
UK patent holder Optis Cellular Technology is suing Apple for patent infringement after it refused to pay license fees worth around $7 billion for using "standardized" smartphone technology in its devices.
Last month, a British High Court judge ruled that Apple had infringed two Optis patents relating to technology that enables devices to connect to cellular networks. Optis has also made a number of additional claims about patent infringements from Apple. Kathleen Fox Murphy, a lawyer representing Optis, commented that "everyone thinks about Apple as the market leader in smartphones, but Apple has to buy in most of the technology in an iPhone."
Optis Cellular Technology and its sister companies, PanOptis, Optis Wireless Technology, Unwired Planet, and Unwired Planet International, are non-practicing entities that hold patents and generate revenue through patent litigation, otherwise known as patent trolls.
Last year, a Texas court fined Apple $506 million for willfully infringing on a handful of PanOptis patents related to 4G LTE technology.
Apple now faces a trial in July 2022 over how much it should pay to Optis for patent infringements in the UK. Last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled that a UK court can set the rate Apple should pay for all of its patents worldwide, even though the court considers the infringement of UK patents only.
At a hearing earlier this year, Mr. Justice Meade hinted that Apple "might be disappointed" by the rate ultimately set by a judge that it will be expected to pay. Apple would be able to avoid the sanction if it exits the UK market, but Meade suggested that this was unlikely, saying "There is no evidence Apple is really going to say no [to paying the rate set by the judge], is there? There is no evidence it is even remotely possible Apple will leave the UK market?"
In spite of this, the response from Apple's legal representation firmly laid out that leaving the UK market may become an unavoidable option for the company if the terms set by the court are "commercially unacceptable." Marie Demetriou, Apple's lawyer, said:
The unprecedented threat highlights the possibility of Apple ending its sales in the UK, perhaps shuttering retail stores and curtailing services to existing customers. Nevertheless, it is highly unlikely that Apple would follow through with the threat, not least because the UK is one of the company's biggest and most important markets. The App Store alone supports more than 330,000 jobs in the UK.
There will be a separate court case later this month to determine if Apple should make a legally binding commitment to abide by the payout rate decided at the trial next year. Should Apple refuse to make undertakings to the court, it may also be banned from selling infringing devices, such as the iPhone, in the UK.
The dispute appears to be getting surprisingly heated for what would ordinarily be a fairly common patent troll case where companies acquire broad, standard-based patents with the hope of extorting money from other companies. Global pressure to rein in powerful big tech companies may have also escalated hostilities. Indeed, in the UK, Apple is currently being investigated for multiple allegations of anti-competitive conduct.
Article Link: Apple Threatens to Leave UK Market Due to $7 Billion Patent Dispute
