Apple, Inc. may have been worth $1 trillion briefly last week, but that didn’t stop McKool Smith, a leading trial firm from Los Angeles, from taking a $145 million bite out of the global tech giant. The firm won a patent infringement verdict on behalf of Ottawa, Canada-based WiLAN Inc., a worldwide patent licensing group that manages and licenses patent portfolios. The company operates in markets such as automotive, digital television, Internet, medical, semiconductor and wireless communication technologies.
The verdict was announced on Aug. 1 following a jury trial before Judge Dana M. Sabraw in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. After less than two hours of deliberations, jurors awarded WiLAN $145.1 million in damages finding that Apple infringed WiLAN’s 8,457,145 and 8,537,757 patents, which cover voice over LTE wireless communication technology used in many Apple products, including the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7, and iPhone 7 Plus.
“The jury worked very hard to understand the complex technology involved in the case, and they weighed the evidence very carefully,” said Mike McKool, Chairman of McKool Smith. “Our client is pleased with the verdict.”
Along with Mike McKool, the McKool Smith trial team included firm principals Robert Cote, Brett E. Cooper, Ashley N. Moore, Steven J. Pollinger, Jonathan Yim, and Seth Hasenour, and associates Warren Lipschitz, Kevin Schubert, Christopher P. McNett, Drew Hollander, and Elisa J. Lee.
The case is Wi-LAN Inc v. Apple Inc., case number 3:14-cv-02235-DMS-BLM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.
Leaders In The Law last reported on McKool Smith in December 2017, when the firm represented pop singer Katy Perry in a real property litigation.