Apple threatens to leave UK over patent legal dispute

Apple issued a warning that it will leave the U.K. market if it will be forced to pay an “unacceptable fee” over a patent case. Through its lawyer, the American tech company said it will just quit if the court obliged it to pay £5 billion or around $7 billion for the technology it used in its iPhone units.

Apple’s warning to court in Britain

According to The Daily Mail, if the threat is carried out, it will end the sale of iPhones in the United Kingdom. It will also conclude the services and upgrades for the existing customers of Apply in the region.

But then again, it was said that despite Apple’s warning, it is highly unlikely to follow through with its threat. The warning from Apple comes amid its court battle with Optis Cellular Technology that holds a technology patent in the U.K.

Optis sued Apple for patent infringement after it refused to pay fees for the use of the former’s technology. The license fees due are said to be worth around $7 billion since Apple used the “standardized” smartphone technology in its iPhones and other products.

Court’s decision over the Optis vs. Apple legal row

Last month, a High Court judge in Britain sided with Optis as it ruled that Apple infringed two of the company’s patents. The technology was said to have helped iPhones to connect to the 3G and 4G networks. It was mentioned that Optis also filed many other similar patent claims against Apple over the use of its other technologies.

At any rate, Apple could skip the payment of fees after the verdict if it will pull out from the UK market. However, Justice Meade said that it unlikely that the American firm will choose to leave. He further said that there is no evidence that Apple is really going to refuse to pay the fees set by the judge.

“I am not sure that is right. Apple's position is it should indeed be able to reflect on the terms and decide whether commercially it is right to accept them or to leave the UK market,” Marie Demetriou, Apple’s lawyer’s response to the judge’s statement. “There may be terms that are set by the court which are just commercially unacceptable.”

Meanwhile, Bloomberg Law reported that the trial to determine a fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory licensing rate for Apple and Optis’s case has been set for the summer of 2022