Years of battle over the technology that Apple uses in iTunes, App Store and Apple Music has brought new development. On Friday, a federal jury in Texas declared that Apple had indeed infringed a patent for a digital rights management technology from Personalized Media Communications. As a result, it ordered the tech giant to pay out about $ 308.5 million.
According to BloombergPersonalized Media Communications sued Apple for infringing its patent on FairPlay, a digital rights management technology used to distribute encrypted content from Apple’s iTunes, App Store and Apple Music services, among other patents, among other patents.
As explained by Personalized Media Communications, a file encrypted with FairPlay, such as a piece of media content or software app, is digitally encrypted and can only be decrypted by an authorized user device based on user-specific or device-specific decryption information.
The lawsuit dates back to 2015 and has seen many twists and turns. While Apple has successfully contested the case in the U.S. Patent Office, Reuters reportedan appeals court later reversed that decision. And just last week, US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap denied Apple’s request to invalidate the Personalized Media Communication patent.
The jury process and verdict are the latest developments, but will not be the last.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Apple said it was disappointed with the ruling and was appealing.
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“Cases like these, led by companies that don’t make or sell products, hinder innovation and ultimately harm consumers,” Apple told Bloomberg.
A personalized media communications expert had set a $ 240 million price tag for what Apple owed the company in royalties for using its technology. However, the jury ordered Apple to pay an ongoing royalty, the price determined by the sale of licensed products or processes.
Gizmodo reached out to Apple on Sunday to request comment on the matter, but did not hear back. We will make sure to update this blog when we do.
According to Bloomberg, Apple isn’t the only company battling with personalized media communications over patents. The outlet states that YouTube won a patent lawsuit against personalized media communications last year due to several patents. The company has now also sued Netflix.