Apple hit with a $5.7 billion verdict for alleged patent infringement

Apple is reportedly looking to appeal the jury verdict. Apple hit with a $5.7 billion verdict for alleged patent infringement. If the decision holds, it would be one of the largest patent infringement case payouts in the US, topping an ongoing case involving Intel for $3 billion.

Taction filed the lawsuit back in 2021, alleging that Apple’s Taptic Engine found in its various iPhone and Apple Watch models infringed on two of its patents related to haptic feedback. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2023 by a federal judge in San Diego, but later brought back into the courts following a decision by the US ​Court ⁠of Appeals for the Federal Circuit a couple of years later. The latest jury verdict from Friday said that Apple unintentionally infringed on two of Taction’s patents.

According to Bloomberg Law, Apple didn’t agree with the jury’s decision nor the damages and would appeal the verdict. Before the Taction lawsuit, Apple was previously hit with another patent infringement lawsuit from Immersion. The company filed a complaint against Apple, also accusing it of patent violations with haptic tech found in iPhones, Apple Watches and MacBooks, but eventually settled for an undisclosed amount.