Big Tech Losing Patent Battles Right and Left

Last week a jury decided that Apple should pay $300 million to Optis Wireless Technology in the companies’ second patent trial, and Sonos prevailed against Google in a dispute about smart-speaker technology. The losses Big Tech is suffering are part of an upsurge in patent litigation during the pandemic. Google alone faced 48 cases. Microsoft, Dell, Google, Samsung, and Huawei all ranked among the top ten most active defendants in 2020. Apple says companies like PMC and Optis are trolls, using patents as legal weapons, not for product innovation. The plaintiffs say that Big Tech uses leverage to squeeze competitors.