A US appeals court reportedly ruled in favor of Apple, HTC, and ZTE on Wednesday, dismissing INVT’s claims that imports of their devices violate wireless technology patents. According to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, smartphones and other devices made by Apple, HTC, and ZTE do not violate INVT’s rights in two wireless communication patents originally owned by Panasonic. Previously, the patent-holding company sought an import ban on allegedly infringing devices in the United States.
According to Reuters, a three-judge Federal Circuit panel of judges ruled that Apple, HTC, and ZTE devices do not infringe on INVT wireless technology patents.
According to the report, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that “the companies’ smartphones, smart watches, tablets, and other LTE-capable devices do not violate INVT’s rights in two patents originally owned by Panasonic.”
The devices did not function as described in the patent, according to the court, and were not capable of receiving and handling data signals in the same way as INVT’s patented technology.
INVT filed a complaint against Apple, HTC, and ZTE at the US International Trade Commission in 2018, accusing their LTE wireless standard-compliant devices of infringing on its patents. It demanded a ban on the importation of allegedly infringing devices. In 2020, the commission ruled in favor of the device manufacturers.
According to the report, now that the appeals court has ruled that the patents were not violated, the tech companies can continue to import and sell their smartphones and other devices in the United States.
