Spotlight On Upcoming Oral Arguments – August 2020

August 4, 2020

Conversant Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. Apple, Inc., No. 19-2039

Conversant sued Apple for allegedly infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,477,151 (the "'151 patent"), which Conversant obtained from Nokia. At trial, Conversant won on the issues of validity and infringement. Apple also challenged the enforceability of the '151 patent, losing at the district court but securing a remand on appeal. On remand, the district court found the '151 patent unenforceable under the doctrine of involuntary waiver. As part of its decision, the district court concluded that: (1) Nokia convinced the European Telecommunications Standards Institute ("ETSI") to include an idea in the General Packet Radio Service ("GPRS") standard, while Nokia also filed patent applications covering the same idea (including the application that matured into the '151 patent), (2) under ETSI rules, Nokia had an obligation to disclose those applications to the ETSI, (3) Nokia concealed those