Recently, the England & Wales Court of Appeal (EWCA) ruled in Optis Cellular Technology (Optis) v. Apple Inc. in the SEP Royalty Dispute, overturning a previous EWHC judgment requiring Apple to pay Optis global royalty totaling $502 million (excluding interest) for the use of Optis' 4G patents in devices such as the iPhone and iPad between 2013 and 2027, with a single-device rate set at $0.15.

      The appeal was heard by a panel of three judges, including Colin Birss, who led the global FRAND royalty decision in Unwired Planet v. Huawei, Richard Arnold who recently granted a provisional license to Lenovo in the Ericsson v. Lenovo dispute over global patent licensing, and Guy Newey. The decision emphasized that the original decision largely discredited the expert testimony of both parties. At the same time, the FRAND rate calculation needs to take into account hold-up and hold-out.

    Based on the unsealed DPUs in selected comparable licenses between Optis and Google, Apple and Ericsson, InterDigital, Nokia and Sisvel, EWCA judges ruled that the FRAND royalties for the Optis portfolio, based on a rate of $0.15/unit, and taking into account Apple's device sales and patent life cycle, amounted to a total royalty of $5.5 million for the period 2013-2027, with a total royalty of $5.5 million for the period 2013-2027, and a total royalty of $5.5 million for the period 2013-2015. The total royalty for the 2013-2027 period amounted to $502 million, excluding interest (the total may exceed $700 million if late interest is included.)