Apple’s chief patent lawyer will soon leave the company amid ongoing legal battles with Samsung and HTC, among others. Attorney Richard “Chip” Lutton Junior currently manages Apple’s extensive portfolio of patents, but not for much longer according to a report on Tuesday from Reuters. The lawyer is leaving Apple for reasons unknown according to Reuters’ seemingly well-placed anonymous source, and B. J. Watrous will replace him. Watrous, formerly Hewlett-Packard’s deputy general counsel, is already listed as Vice President & Chief IP Counsel for Apple on his LinkedIn profile. Apple has sued a number of companies around the world recently for patent infringement, including Samsung, HTC and Nokia. HTC responded to Apple’s most recent patent complaint by stating that the company should focus on competing in the market instead of constantly suing its competitors.
Apple’s top patent lawyer quits as legal battles heat up
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:21PM EST
If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.
Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
