Last week, we told you about a recent study finding that patent trolls brought 61 percent of all patent lawsuits filed in 2012. Today we’re here to tell you about a major patent troll victory against one of the world’s most widely recognized technology brands.
MobileMedia Ideas LLC (MMI), a specialized patent company that holds patents belonging to Nokia Corp. and Sony Corp., recently won a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc. A Delaware federal court jury last week found that Apple’s iPhones infringe three MMI patents related to mobile-device technology. Monetary damages have not yet been determined.
MMI is an example of a nontraditional patent-holding company. Rather than being fully independent, the company is the creation of a group of companies (in this case, Nokia, Sony and MPEG LA) that assign patents to it to pursue licensing fees. The three companies formed MMI in 2010. Nokia and Sony each hold about 25 percent stake in the company, but they don’t control MMI’s licensing or litigation activities. The Apple case is the first MMI case to go to trial.
Read the Huffington Post and Wall Street Journal Law Blog for more about the jury verdict.
For more coverage of patent trolls on InsideCounsel, see below:
Majority of patent lawsuits brought by trolls
Patent trolls may have to pay legal costs
