Computer company Apple has been found guilty of patent infringement, and fined $19 million fine by a court in Texas.
The patent, which was held by California-based microchip manufacturer OPTi, is related to a type of transfer method called “predictive snooping of cache memory for master-initiated accesses”.
Apple argued that the patent was invalid due to “prior art” and “obviousness”.
Meanwhile, the testimony of chief executive Steve Jobs has been made public in which he maintained he was unaware of the illegality of improperly backdating stock options.
The US Government did not pursue legal action against Jobs when he asked the Apple board of directors in 2001 to approve an option grant of nearly five million shares to the Apple executive team.
Jobs claimed in his deposition that he asked for the grants to retain key members of the executive team.
Patrick Stafford is a freelance journalist and a former deputy editor of SmartCompany.
