NIPC Law

Author Anthony M   Licence CC BY 2.0   Source Flickr Jane Lambert Court of Appeal (Lords Justices Arnold, Nugee and Birss)  Optis Cellular Technology LLC and others v Apple Retail UK Ltd and others [2023] EWCA Civ 438 (25 April 2023) This was an appeal from Mr Justice Meade's judgment in Optis Cellular Technology LLC and others v Apple Retail UK Ltd and others [2021] EWHC 3121 (Pat) (25 Nov 2021) in which the learned judge revoked  EP 2 093 953 B1 ,  EP 2 464 065 B1  and  EP 2 592 779 B1  for a method for transmitting and receiving control information through PDCCH.  The action had been trial "C" of a series of trials between the three Panoptis companies (Optis Cellular Technology LLC, Optis Wireless Technology LLC and Unwired Planet International Ltd. ("Optis")) and Apple Inc. and its subsidiaries ("Apple") over the terms of a FRAND licence of the claimants' portfolio of allegedly standard-essential patents. The Appeal Mr Justice Mea...

Author Ambrosiani   Licence CC BY-SA 4,0   Source Wikimedia Commons   Jane Lambert Patents Court (Mr Justice Marcus Smith) Optis Cellular Technology LLC and others v Apple Retail UK Ltd and others [2021] EWHC 2080 (Pat) (1 July 2021) On 23 Oct 2021, I discussed Mr Justice Meade's judgment in  Optis Cellular Technology LLC and others v Apple Retail UK Ltd and others [2021] EWHC 1739 (Pat) (25 June 2021). That had been "trial B" in a series of trials between the owners of certain telecommunications patents and Apple Inc and its subsidiaries.  This case was an application in a case management conference before Mr Justice Marcus Smith for trial "E".  It did not involve the claimants who were allowed to withdraw from the hearing.  It lay between the defendants and a company known only as "the third party." The Application The defendants applied for an order that a licence with the third party be provided for inspection to the claimants in accorda...

Jane Lambert Patents Court  (Mr Justice Meade)  Optis Cellular Technology LLC and others v Apple Retail UK Ltd and others     [2021] EWHC 1739 (Pat) (25 June 2021) This was the second of a series of trials between the claimant patent portfolio owners and the defendant implementors in FRAND litigation.  The trial had been intended to decide the validity and essentiality of  European patent (UK) number 2 229 744 B1  and whether it had been infringed.  One of the defences was proprietary estoppel or, alternatively, acquiescence.  Essentiality was conceded just before trial leaving validity and proprietary estoppel or acquiescence as the only issues.  The case came on for trial before Mr Justice Meade in April 2021,   He delivered judgment on 25 June 2021. At  para [563]  of his judgment, he  held that the patent was valid and that the proprietary estoppel/acquiescence defence failed. The Invention The abstract summa...