Apple has been ordered to pay $308.5 million USD ($385.7 million CAD) for infringing on a digital rights management patent.
The tech giant has to pay the amount to Personalized Media Communications (PMC), which is a patent licensing firm, after a federal jury in Texas found that it had infringed on a patent.
PMC sued the tech giant over its FairPlay technology, which is used to distribute encrypted content from iTunes, Apple Music and the App Store. The patent licensing firm sued Apple in 2015 and claimed that it infringed on seven of its patents.
Apple had managed to challenge the case to the Pant Trial and Appeal Board. However, an appeals court reversed the board’s decision and the case went to trial.
The tech giant told Bloomberg that it is disappointed with the ruling from the trial and that it will appeal. “Cases like this, brought by companies that don’t make or sell any products, stifle innovation and ultimately harm consumers,” the tech giant stated.
Interestingly, Google and YouTube won a patent trial lodged by PMC last November. PMC also has cases against Netflix and Amazon that are pending.
Source: Bloomberg
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