Optis’ Post-Trial Motions in Apple Case Demand Serious Attention

In high-stakes patent litigation, post-trial motions are often dismissed as routine clean-up—procedural volleys after the real battle has been fought. That framing does not hold in the battle between Optis Wireless and Apple in the Eastern District of Texas. The filings submitted by the plaintiffs seeking judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) or in the alternative for a new trial present a compelling argument that the jury’s verdict is not merely unfavorable, but structurally unsound. When viewed holistically, the record suggests there was meaningful error—or at least confusion—between in the legal standards, evidentiary rulings, and jury instructions. Against that backdrop, plaintiffs’ position that it is entitled to either JMOL or a new trial requires fresh consideration.

The Core Structural Problem: Essentiality Was Treated as Optional

It is possible for a standard essential patent (SEP) to not actually cover the implemented standard, which seems peculiar. A patent is considered standard essential once it has been declared or disclosed as potentially essential to the standard setting body (ETSI in this case). Whether the technology protected by the patent is actually incorporated into the standard does not change the fact that it is properly characterized as an SEP.   This is an oddity, but it is a mistake to conflate a patent being standard essential from a declaration standpoint with a patent being standard essential from a technical standpoint.

In this case, the jury was not instructed that the patents were, in fact, technically essential, when in fact that issue had already been decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Specifically, in the Federal Circuit’s June 16, 2025, decision that led to this remand, the court explicitly stated: “The asserted patents are standard-essential patents (SEPs) that cover technology essential to the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standard.” Thus, the Federal Circuit has directly stated that the patents owned by the plaintiffs were both declared as standard essential, and the technology covered by the patents is technically essential to the standard.

Notwithstanding, the jury was instead told only that the patents had been “declared” essential and that Apple could challenge that designation. This created a distorted trial environment where a settled premise was re-litigated as an open question. This was both not true and a reversible legal error.

Essentiality is the linchpin that connects infringement, fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing (FRAND) obligations, and damages. Remove certainty on that point, and the entire analytical framework collapses into ambiguity. The plaintiffs’ argument is straightforward: once technical essentiality was established by the Federal Circuit, it is not a variable to be relitigated at trial. Such a position is not only reasonable, but it is rather definitively the law—the law of the case once decided is not appropriate to relitigate. If that were not the case, there could never be finality.

Apple’s Position Shift: A Textbook Case for Judicial Estoppel

Compounding the issue is Apple’s litigation posture. At earlier stages, Apple affirmatively argued that the patents were FRAND-encumbered—an argument that only holds if the patents are essential under ETSI rules. That position was not incidental; it was instrumental in securing a prior new trial on damages.

At trial, however, Apple pivoted, arguing that the patents were not essential, which directly and unambiguously contradicts their earlier FRAND argument. The result is a classic “have it both ways” scenario: asserting essentiality when it supports a procedural advantage and disavowing it when it supports a merits defense.

This is precisely the conduct judicial estoppel is designed to prevent. Courts are not designed to be arbitrage venues where parties toggle between inconsistent positions based on tactical convenience. The doctrine exists to protect the integrity of the judicial process, not just the fairness of outcomes. The plaintiffs’ reliance on judicial estoppel is not aggressive—it is perfectly appropriate, and what the law demands.

Evidentiary and Instructional Errors: Not Harmless, but Outcome-Determinative

The motion for a new trial identifies multiple evidentiary and instructional issues that, taken together, point to a trial that deviated from governing legal standards in material ways.

First, the exclusion of evidence showing Apple’s prior admissions regarding FRAND obligations deprived the jury of critical context. That excluded evidence was not peripheral; it directly undercut Apple’s trial position on non-essentiality. Without it, the jury was left with an artificially one-sided narrative and without the benefit of being told Apple was literally speaking out of both sides of its mouth.

Second, the handling of settlement negotiations raises serious concerns under Federal Rule of Evidence 408. Apple had previously argued that such materials were inadmissible, only to introduce them at trial when strategically advantageous. Allowing this reversal without consequence undermines both the rule itself and the predictability of evidentiary boundaries.

Third, the failure to properly instruct the jury on the relationship between essentiality and FRAND obligations created a conceptual gap. The jury was told that FRAND applied, but not why—or under what conditions. That omission is not technical; it goes to the heart of how damages should be calculated in SEP cases. And the full context here is essential when there is such an obvious disconnect introduced by what the term “essential” even means. Without the full context the jury was practically invited to conflate declared essentiality with technical essentiality.

Individually, each of these issues raises red flags. Collectively, they point to an overall trial framework that was hopelessly misaligned with the law of the case, and the law in this area generally speaking.

The JMOL Argument: No Reasonable Jury Could Find Otherwise

The JMOL motions sharpen the focus further. The plaintiffs argue that, even setting aside procedural errors, the evidentiary record does not support the jury’s findings on non-infringement. The logic is straightforward. If the asserted claims are essential to mandatory portions of the technical LTE standard, as the Federal Circuit stated, and if Apple’s products indisputably implement that standard, then infringement follows as a matter of law.

Apple’s counterarguments, as characterized in the filings, rely heavily on conclusory expert testimony and claim constructions that import limitations not found in the patent claims. Courts have consistently rejected such approaches. Expert opinions that lack factual grounding do not create a genuine issue of material fact; they are insufficient to sustain a jury verdict. And, regardless, in this case such characterizations by Apple are in direct conflict with what the Federal Circuit said in June 2025.

Moreover, the record appears to contain substantial affirmative evidence of infringement, including technical standards documents, source code analysis, and admissions by Apple witnesses regarding implementation of LTE protocols. When one side presents detailed, corroborated evidence and the other responds with unsupported conclusions, the party relying on conclusions must lose. Thus, JMOL is not a stretch—it is the correct outcome.

The Bottom Line: This Is Not About Reweighing Evidence

The plaintiffs’ motions argue that the trial was conducted on a flawed legal foundation—one that allowed settled issues to be reopened, excluded critical evidence, and improperly instructed the jury on governing principles and standards. These errors go to the integrity of the adjudicative process, not just the correctness of the outcome.

When viewed through that lens, the plaintiffs’ request for relief—whether in the form of JMOL or a new trial—is not an attempt to relitigate the case. This is an effort to ensure that the case is decided under the correct legal framework.

And on that point, the plaintiffs’ arguments lands with force.

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