Apple faces more than $5.7 billion patent infringement verdict

A federal jury in San Diego awarded Taction Technology more than $5.7 billion in damages Friday after finding that Apple infringed claims from two haptics patents.

Taction sued Apple in 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. The company alleged that Apple was improperly “capitalizing on Taction’s innovation and success” by selling devices that infringed on its vibration technology, according to the complaint. Apple initially won dismissal in 2023, and the Federal Circuit later revived the case.

“While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts,” Apple told CNBC in a statement. “Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial. Apple does not use Taction’s technology, and we will appeal.”

“We’re happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” the company’s lead counsel, Lance Yang, partner at Quinn Emanuel, told CNBC. “Taction waited five and a half years for this case to get to trial, so it was a long time coming.”

The lawsuit centered around U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, which both involve vibration-based, tactile transducer technology that helps users feel a device responding to their input. Taction argued that Apple’s “Taptic Engine,” which is embedded in its Apple Watches and iPhones, uses its inventions without proper license or authority.

The jury trial began Sept. 14, and the seven jurors deliberated for two days after proceedings concluded. They returned at 1:15 p.m. PT on Friday and delivered the verdict in favor of Taction.

The jury did not find Apple’s infringement willful.

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