> The first is that it explicitly prohibits patent lawsuits against people for actually using the GPL-licensed software you ship Its a bit more complex than th

> The first is that it explicitly prohibits patent lawsuits against people for actually using the GPL-licensed software you ship Its a bit more complex than that. You are also prohibited from distributing the software if you are knowingly relying on a patent license from a third party. A common interpretation in the past, and suspect it still rings true today, is that Apple do not know the scope and extent of their patent agreements with other companies, but they don't want to rely on ignorance when distributing software to millions of customers. The worst case would look like this: Third-party company sue a Apple customer over a patent. Customer accuse Apple for misleading them and convince a developer to aid them. Developer sue Apple for infringement. Somewhere, somehow a memo from a lawyer actually did inform someone at apple that the third-party company had such patent, meaning that apple knowingly infringed the copyright (much higher fines/punishment).