Apple Beats Optis Wireless Patent Claims in New Verdict (2)

Feb. 12, 2026, 10:01 PM UTCUpdated: Feb. 13, 2026, 6:44 PM UTC

Apple Inc. beat patent infringement allegations from Optis Wireless Technology LLC and its corporate affiliates after two prior verdicts were thrown out in a lengthy dispute involving wireless communications technology.

Apple didn’t infringe US Patent Nos. 8,411,557, 8,385,284, 8,102,833, 8,019,332, and 9,001,774, a jury determined Thursday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The previous juries issued multimillion-dollar verdicts against the tech giant over technology used inside its iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch products.

An Apple spokesperson said in an email the company is pleased the latest jury rejected Optis’ allegations.

“Optis makes no products, and its sole business is to sue companies, which it has done repeatedly to Apple in an attempt to obtain an excessive payout,” the spokesperson said.

Optis will seek a review of the jury’s verdict by the district court and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a company spokesperson said in an email Friday.

“While we respect the jury’s decision, we are incredibly disappointed by this outcome,” the Optis spokesperson said. “We believe the verdict does not recognize the essential nature of Optis patents which are used in Apple devices to achieve high-speed cellular connectivity.”

Optis, Optis Cellular Technology LLC, PanOptis Patent Management LLC, Unwired Planet LLC, and Unwired Planet International Ltd. sued Apple in 2019 over the patents.

A jury determined in August 2020 that Apple owed Optis $506 million for infringing its technology.

Judge Rodney Gilstrap later ordered a new trial on damages, ruling the jury didn’t hear evidence on the obligation to license patents essential to the LTE wireless standard on fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory terms.

The second trial resulted in a $300 million verdict that the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit threw out in June 2025. The panel ruled the wording of the verdict sheet asked the jury whether Apple infringed “any” of the claims in the five asserted patents rather than requiring the jury to unanimously decide whether each claim was infringed separately.

Apple’s legal counsel, Joseph J. Mueller of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, told the jury Optis’ partners LG, Panasonic, and Ericsson have a direct stake in the verdict and claimed they are behind the push for litigation.

Mueller said Optis raised the amount of money it sought from Apple each day of the trial.

“There’s no infringement of these five patents,” Mueller said. “And there never was.”

Optis requested the latest jury award it $583 million in damages. Its counsel, Jason Sheasby of Irell & Manella LLP, argued Apple was trying to confuse the jury by using jargon when discussing patent claims. The attorney said Apple engineers heard about the wireless technology and chose to take it without permission.

“Apple chose to not invest,” Sheasby said.

Gillam & Smith LLP also represents Apple. McKool Smith PC and Gray Reed & McGraw LLP also represent Optis.

The case is Optis Wireless Technology LLC v. Apple Inc., E.D. Tex., No. 2:19-cv-00066, jury verdict issued 2/12/26.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lauren Castle in Dallas at lcastle@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andrea Vittorio at avittorio@bloombergindustry.com; Tonia Moore at tmoore@bloombergindustry.com

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