Apple Ordered To Pay $308.5 Million In Patent Infringement Case

Apple could have to pay $308.5 million for infringing a digital rights management patent. 

What Happened: A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, on Friday ruled that Apple Inc AAPL infringed a patent related to Personalized Media Communications LLC’s (PMC) digital rights management, and said Apple must pay $308.5 million to PMC, Reuters has reported.  

The jurors also asked Apple to pay a running royalty to PMC. Sugarland, Texas-based PMC says Apple owes $240 million in royalties. 

According to Reuters, Apple is dissatisfied with the verdict and will appeal. 

“Cases like this, brought by companies that don’t make or sell any products, stifle innovation and ultimately harm consumers,” Apple said. 

See also: How To Buy Apple Stock

Why It Matters: PMC sued Apple in 2015, alleging that its iTunes service infringed seven of its patents. Apple challenged the case at the patent office, and in 2020 an appeals court reversed the decision. 

PMC also has infringement cases against other companies, including Netflix Inc NFLX, Amazon.com, Inc AMZN and Alphabet Inc’s Google GOOG GOOGL.