Apple and Intel hit back at SoftBank firm’s ‘extortion’
Apple and Intel have accused a SoftBank Group-owned investment firm of violating antitrust law through the stockpiling of patents to use in litigation against technology companies.
Intel and Apple claimed that they had brought the complaint to “end a campaign of anticompetitive patent aggregation” by Fortress Investment Group and a web of patent assertion entities (PAEs) that Fortress owns or controls.
In October, Intel filed an antitrust lawsuit against SoftBank unit Fortress, which has since been withdrawn. On Wednesday, November 20, Intel filed the new claim, with Apple joining as a plaintiff.
“Fortress and its PAEs seek to use that ill-gotten power to extract and extort exorbitant revenues unfairly and anticompetitively from Intel, Apple, and other suppliers of electronic devices or components or software for such devices and ultimately from consumers of those products,” said the suit.
Fortress’ aggregation of patents, according to the plaintiffs, is intended for an anticompetitive purpose and violates US antitrust laws.
Apple and Intel claimed that Fortress, which was acquired by SoftBank in 2017 for $3.3 billion, has created a web of entities which obscure Fortress’ “puppeteering role” in the scheme.
“Fortress has used its stable of PAEs to aggregate a massive portfolio of patents that purportedly read on high-tech consumer and enterprise electronic devices and components or software therein and processes used to manufacture them,” alleged the suit.
According to Apple, firms connected to Fortress have filed at least 25 lawsuits against it, requesting between $2.6 billion to $5.1 billion in damages.
In the claim, Apple noted that two Fortress-connected firms, Uniloc USA and Uniloc Luxembourg, have disclosed that they believe they are entitled to damages of between $1.41 and $2.75 per Apple product, for total damages in the range of $375-$732 million.
Apple added: “The apparent precision of the per-unit damages request is a facade; Uniloc USA and Uniloc Luxembourg simply adopted the amounts that Apple sought from Samsung in litigation for Apple’s patents.”
Apple and Intel are seeking a finding that the SoftBank unit has engaged in unlawful conduct, damages and costs.
They have also asked the court for a finding that all of Fortress’ contracts that violate antitrust law are declared void and the patents covered by those transfer agreements be transferred back to the transferors.
The plaintiffs have also asked that patents transferred to Fortress, in violation of antitrust laws, be declared unenforceable.
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