The Supreme Court of the United States today decided that U.S. companies may only face patent infringement lawsuits in the jurisdiction in which they are incorporated, which in Apple's case would be California.

apple tyler texas logo
The decision is significant for Apple, as the iPhone maker faces several patent infringement lawsuits in a single district court in Eastern Texas that is considered friendly to patent holding entities, or so-called "patent trolls."

That very court in Tyler, Texas has, for example, ordered Apple to pay $532.9 million to patent licensing firm Smartflash LLC in 2015, and $22.1 million to Acacia Research last September for infringing upon patents it acquired from Nokia.

By limiting where patent infringement lawsuits can be filed, the Supreme Court's decision means that Apple will likely be able to battle patent infringement lawsuits in Northern California, and finally put East Texas behind it.

The Supreme Court's decision today relates to a Delaware-based lawsuit between Heartland Food Products Group and The Kraft Heinz Company, but it extends to all domestic companies across the United States.

Update: The appears to be considerable confusion throughout media coverage of this ruling. The ruling narrowly limited a company's "residence" to the place of incorporation, but patent lawsuits may still be filed anywhere "the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business." As a result, it appears patent lawsuits can still be filed against Apple in many jurisdictions, including the Eastern District of Texas.

Top Rated Comments

slprescott Avatar
99 months ago
Apple can be sued in Delaware, where it is incorporated, or anywhere else it has a regular place of business and is alleged to infringe. That would include East Texas if it has any offices or stores there.
Tomorrow's news:
"Apple announces plans to close all stores in east Texas."
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WildCowboy Avatar
99 months ago
This article says Apple is incorporated in Delaware? http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/business/how-delaware-thrives-as-a-corporate-tax-haven.html
That article is incorrect or unclear. They are registered in Delaware, but are incorporated in California. From Apple's investor FAQ page:

When was Apple incorporated?
Apple was incorporated in the state of California on January 3, 1977.
http://investor.apple.com/faq.cfm
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
99 months ago
I did read it, but to fully appreciate a legal opinion, you really need legal experience... that's why one should read the professional interpretations as well. While I did read that one can sue where one does business, in this case, the defendant won despite doing business in Delaware. So it seems a little contradictory...
Ruling is very clear they have no business in Delaware (no offices)
Despite what The Wall Street Journal and several other media outlets are saying, I think this is accurate. I regret seemingly falling into the trap of "fake news." The difference with Apple is that it has retail stores that fall within the Eastern District of Texas, so it has an established business presence in that jurisdiction and, by the sounds of it, can be rightfully sued there for alleged patent infringement still.
[doublepost=1495478124][/doublepost]
Nah just seems like y'all didn't actually read and interpret what it meant. You just wanted to put some (in this case, misguided/false) info out to get quick clicks. Typical.
I ensure you that's not the case. I was misguided by the dozen or so credible media publications that positioned this news with the angle that I also did. However, I admit that I failed to "do my homework" in this situation. I strive for factualness and accuracy at all times, so trust me when I say that this disappoints me. MacRumors has never instructed me to write articles in a manner that gets "quick clicks," and it's not something I stand for.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
topgunn Avatar
99 months ago
Looks like Judge Troll will be taking a pay cut.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gasu E. Avatar
99 months ago
Apple can be sued in Delaware, where it is incorporated, or anywhere else it has a regular place of business and is alleged to infringe. That would include East Texas if it has any offices or stores there.
But, the exact wording is "...or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement AND has a regular and established place of business. " To use a store to meet that requirement would mean that the infringement would have had to take place at the store. Since the only things that transpire at the store are sales and service, if those were infringing acts, than any business that sold and serviced the offending product would be equally liable. That means Best Buy could be sued for patent infringement on the same basis as Apple.

It would seem to me that infringing acts required to qualify a non-HQ site would only entail acts to incorporate the offending technology, such as manufacturing and design.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
99 months ago
('https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/22/supreme-court-apple-east-texas/')

By limiting where patent infringement lawsuits can be filed, the Supreme Court's decision means that Apple will likely be able to battle patent infringement lawsuits in Northern California, and finally put East Texas behind it.

Apple can be sued in Delaware, where it is incorporated, or anywhere else it has a regular place of business and is alleged to infringe. That would include East Texas if it has any offices or stores there.

So not just Northern California.

The fight was what "resides" means:

28 USC 1400(b):
Any civil action for patent infringement may be brought in the judicial district where the defendant resides, or where the defendant has committed acts of infringement and has a regular and established place of business.

"Resides" now means "where the corporate defendant is incorporated" (e.g. Delaware). The part after the "or" hasn't changed.

Updated: ok, looks like they are incorporated in northern california, but that doesn't change the rest of my point. They can be sued LOTS of places, including possibly eastern texas.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 2 Redux

Top 5 Apple Products to Look Forward to in 2025

Friday December 20, 2024 2:22 pm PST by
It's looking like 2025 is going to be an important year for Apple, with the company planning to revamp the iPhone, push further into smart home products, and improve Apple Intelligence. There are tons of new products rumored for 2025, including new iPhones, M4 Macs, a smart home command center, and much more. We've highlighted the top five Apple products that will have the biggest impact in...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Real Mock

iOS 18.2.1 Update Coming Soon for iPhone

Saturday December 21, 2024 4:45 pm PST by
Apple appears to be internally testing iOS 18.2.1 for the iPhone, based on evidence of the software update in our website's analytic logs this week. The logs have accurately revealed many iOS versions before they were released. iOS 18.2.1 should be a minor update that fixes bugs and/or addresses security vulnerabilities, but it is unclear which specific issues might be resolved. The update...