How Apple will dodge an Imagination lawsuit

April 03, 2017 // By Peter Clarke (eeNews Europe)

Once the best of friends processor licensor Imagination and consumer electronics giant Apple look set to fall out at the end of a relationship that has lasted more than a decade. Must Imagination sue and how will Apple avoid such a suit?

The situation is that Apple has told Imagination Technologies Group plc (Kings Langley, England) that it will be dropping the use of its GPUs in about two years' time and Imagination has said it reserves the right to sue Apple for unauthorised use of Imagination’s confidential information and Imagination's intellectual property rights (see Apple dumping GPUs: Imagination in discussions).

It would seem that Imagination has little to lose and must sue but Apple has effectively invoked what one might call the "waiting" defence. Although it is Imagination that has gone public on the matter. And it seems unlikely that such big moves will not be without consequences for other IP players such as ARM.

But first some background.

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