Texas Court Hits Apple with $532.9 Million Infringement Verdict

A Texas jury has found that Apple infringed on patents held by Smartflash LLC, to the tune of $532.9 million. The IP in question was three patents used in Apple’s iTunes music platform. Apple says it will appeal, and in a statement painted Smartflast has a classic abusive non-practicing entity and an example of why patent reform is needed. The company, Apple says, “makes no products, has no employees, creates no jobs, has no U.S. presence, and is exploiting our patent system to seek royalties for technology Apple invented.” The Smartflash complaint, however, claims that the co-inventor of the patents discussed them in 2000 with a man who went on to become an Apple senior director. The trial was held in the reputedly troll-friendly U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Apple has had two other high-profile patent decisions in the Eastern District court overturned on appeal.