Recently, Cupertino-based Apple Inc. has been hit with a slew of new patent infringement lawsuits after the company was ordered last week to pay more than $530 million for infringing on the patents of a Texas company, according to an article at the LA Times.

Texas-based Smartflash was awarded $532.9 million by a jury, then filed an additional lawsuit on February 25 alleging that Apple violated the company’s patents in relation to devices that debuted after the original lawsuit was already in court. In the midst of all this, Ericsson, a pioneer in the Swedish mobile phone industry, hit Apple hard when the company filed seven federal lawsuits against Apple in an ongoing patent dispute, along with two complaints filed with the U.S. International Trade commission alleging that Apple had infringed on more than 40 patents in relation to various technologies relevant to iPads and iPhones.

In January of this year, a licensing agreement between Apple and Ericsson regarding royalties to be paid to the Swedish technology company for its mobile technology expired. Since that time, the companies have traded lawsuits, with Apple filing a suit against Ericsson in January regarding a fair rate for the rights to Ericsson’s patents. A spokeswoman for Apple revealed a statement made by Apple saying, “We’ve always been willing to pay a fair price to secure the rights to standards essential patents covering technology in our products. Unfortunately, we have not been able to agree with Ericsson on a fair rate for their patents so, as a last resort, we are asking the courts for help.”

Some of the patents Ericsson is taking legal action against Apple for include 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE high-speed wireless technology; complaints filed in federal court also indicate Ericsson has taken legal action in regards to GPS technology.

While the initial lawsuit filed by Smartflash against Apple claimed infringement on three patents including devices that use iTunes and iTunes software, the new lawsuit filed by Smartflash LLC accused Apple of continuing to infringe on patents such as those for payment for songs, games, and other data in addition to methods utilized to manage digital rights. Apple denies the allegations, saying that the company manufactures no products, has no presence in the U.S., creates no jobs, and has no employees, and that Smartflash is exploiting Apple’s patent system in order to claim royalties for technology that Apple actually invented.

Spotora & Associates is a skilled team of Los Angeles intellectual property attorneys highly experienced and knowledgeable in the areas of patents, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, and other areas of Internet law. Contact us today for unsurpassed legal guidance, support, and representation in matters regarding intangible rights.

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