The German court found that there was no infringement on Apple's part, possibly putting on ice any issues the company faces with the so-called "patent troll." February 28, 2014 8:52 AM PST IPCom, a company that owns patents and asserts those in infringement trials, has lost in its bid to generate $2.2 billion in damages off of Apple. The company, which is often referred to as a "patent troll" because it doesn't actually make products but uses its patent portfolio as a revenue generator, was rebuffed on Friday by the Mannheim Regional Court, which found that Apple did not in fact infringe on two standard-essential patents brought before it by IPCom. The case also included a patent-infringement claim against HTC, which was also thrown out. According to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, who was first to report on the news, IPCom acquired the patents years ago from Bosch after that company left the car phone space. The patents relate in general to access to emergency responders from mobile devices. IPCom's loss does not mean that the company can't appeal the decision. However, it appears at this point that the ruling puts the prospects for IPCom's future with these patents on thin ice.
The German court found that there was no infringement on Apple's part, possibly putting on ice any issues the company faces with the so-called "patent troll."
IPCom, a company that owns patents and asserts those in infringement trials, has lost in its bid to generate $2.2 billion in damages off of Apple.
The company, which is often referred to as a "patent troll" because it doesn't actually make products but uses its patent portfolio as a revenue generator, was rebuffed on Friday by the Mannheim Regional Court, which found that Apple did not in fact infringe on two standard-essential patents brought before it by IPCom. The case also included a patent-infringement claim against HTC, which was also thrown out.
According to FOSS Patents' Florian Mueller, who was first to report on the news, IPCom acquired the patents years ago from Bosch after that company left the car phone space. The patents relate in general to access to emergency responders from mobile devices.
IPCom's loss does not mean that the company can't appeal the decision. However, it appears at this point that the ruling puts the prospects for IPCom's future with these patents on thin ice.
