Apple may have to pay $ 308.5 million for infringing a digital rights management patent.
What happened: A federal jury in Marshall, Texas, decided on Friday that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) infringed a patent related to digital rights management from Personalized Media Communications LLC (PMC) and said Apple should pay PMC $ 308.5 million, Reuters reported.
Judges also asked Apple to pay current royalties to PMC. Sugarland, Texas-based PMC says Apple owes $ 240 million in royalties.
According to Reuters, Apple is dissatisfied with the verdict and will appeal.
“Cases like this, brought by companies that do not make or sell any products, stifle innovation and end up harming consumers,” said Apple.
See too: How to buy Apple stock
Why does it matter: PMC sued Apple in 2015, claiming that its iTunes service infringed seven of its patents. Apple contested the case at the patent office, and in 2020, an appeals court reversed the decision.
PMC also has infringement procedures against other companies, including Netflix Inc (NASDAQ: NFLX), Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Alphabet Incfrom Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
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