Apple Wi-Fi hotspot patent infrigement saga ends with a whimper

After several years of back-and-forth litigation, Apple has withdrawn what was likely its final appeal in a Wi-Fi hotspot patent infringement case due to a Supreme Court decision.

The case centered on a specific patent owned by defunct mobile device maker IXI Mobile which focused on wireless hotspot technology. Apple was hit with a lawsuit claiming patent infringement in 2014, and continued to fight the patent infringement lawsuit through 2020.

But, on Monday, Apple filed an unopposed motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to voluntarily dismiss its appeals against a court decision in 2018.

Apple cites the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the "Thryv, Inc. v. Click-To-Call Technologies, LP" case as the reason why.

In April, the Supreme Court essentially solidified certain provisions of U.S. code that barred entities from filing an inter partes review petition more than one year after being sued. Put another way, companies served with a patent lawsuit only have a year to file a motion to request the U.S. Patent Trademark Office review the patentability of intellectual property.

Apple's counsel filed the voluntary motion on Monday, May 4, and noted that both the appellee and intervenor opposed it. The Federal Circuit granted the motion on Thursday, May 7.

With that appeal dropped, and no further inter partes reviews on the table, it's likely that any court decision in the IXI's infringement case will be final. Apple last requested a jury trial in October 2019.

9 Comments

charlesgres 71 comments · 8 Years

About 4 years ago

So, what does that mean in English?

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

In English, to some it means Apple steals every technology it uses in its products and hasn’t invented one damn thing since its incorporation in 1976. Apple apparently has thousands of useless patents that it never uses, but instead, steals from others. I can’t think of a single patent infringement lawsuit that Apple actually won. It seems everybody who sues them gets a chunk of money. I guess they’re evil lowlifes like @Avon b7 says. Time to switch platforms. Who would want be associated with such douchebags? /s

toysandme 243 comments · 16 Years

lkrupp said:

Time to switch platforms. Who would want be associated with such douchebags?

FYI: Android and Microsoft are not exactly run by angels.

rob53 3307 comments · 13 Years

lkrupp said:

In English, to some it means Apple steals every technology it uses in its products and hasn’t invented one damn thing since its incorporation in 1976. Apple apparently has thousands of useless patents that it never uses, but instead, steals from others. I can’t think of a single patent infringement lawsuit that Apple actually won. It seems everybody who sues them gets a chunk of money. I guess they’re evil lowlifes like @Avon b7 says. Time to switch platforms. Who would want be associated with such douchebags?

Check out https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/10/18/apple-files-complaint-to-halt-relitigation-of-ixi-mobile-patent-suit.

"The PTAB found all claims obvious, a decision held up by the Federal Circuit in 2018 following an attempted appeal by IXI. In January, the U.S. Patent and Trade Office issued an IPR certificate cancelling the challenged elements, leaving IXI's case toothless."

Does this mean Apple stole the patents or that IXI was given a patent for something it shouldn't have been? This is the type of patent Apple gets sued for all the time. Two people can think of the same thing without knowing the other person is thinking about it. Why should one get a patent and the other one not? I would say that almost everything that ever has been patented could be asserted on anything new someone comes up with. Everything is based on prior patents anyway.

toysandme said:

lkrupp said:

Time to switch platforms. Who would want be associated with such douchebags?

FYI: Android and Microsoft are not exactly run by angels.

Yes they are. Just ask @gatorguy.