A federal jury in Texas has ruled that Apple infringed a patent for technology it uses in iTunes, App Store, and Apple Music held by Personalized Media Communications. Accordingly, the jury asked Apple to pay a $308.5 million fine.
According to Bloomberg, Personalized Media Communications sued Apple for infringing its patent on FairPlay, a digital rights management technology that is used to distribute encrypted content from Apple’s iTunes, App Store and Apple Music services, among other patents, among other patents.
As explained by Personalized Media Communications, a file that is encrypted with FairPlay, such as a piece of media content or software app, is digitally encrypted and can only be decrypted by an authorized user device based on user-specific or device-specific decryption information.
The lawsuit dates back to 2015 and has been through many twists and turns. Although Apple successfully challenged the case at the U.S. patent office, an appeals court later reversed that decision.
And just last week, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap denied Apple’s request to declare Personalized Media Communication’s patent invalid.
The jury trial and verdict are the latest developments but won’t be the last.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said it was disappointed with the ruling and would appeal it.
“Cases like this, brought by companies that don’t make or sell any products, stifle innovation and ultimately harm consumers,” Apple told Bloomberg.
An expert for Personalized Media Communications had set a $240 million price tag for what Apple owed the company in royalties for using its technology. However, the jury ordered Apple to pay a running royalty, which is the price determined by the sales of licensed products or processes.
