Apple ordered to pay $5.7bn in patent infringement case

California jury finds Apple infringed two Taction patents but did not willfully violate them; Apple plans to appeal.

Apple said it plans to appeal the verdict [File: Dado Ruvic/Reuters]

Apple has been ordered to pay more than $5.7bn for using patented technology from Taction Technology to power haptic feedback, the vibrations users feel when they receive a notification or press a button.

A jury in federal court in the Southern district of California found that the iPhone maker infringed two patents owned by the San Diego-based company.

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“We’re happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” said Taction attorney Lance Yang following the verdict on Friday.

The verdict is the culmination of a legal battle that began in 2021, when Taction first filed its lawsuit against Apple. In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Apple had not infringed Taction’s patents, but an appeals court revived the case last year.

“Apple is capitalising on Taction’s innovation and success by selling devices that infringe Taction’s patents. Apple is utilising Taction’s patented inventions without license or authority from Taction. Taction has brought this action to remedy Apple’s infringement,” Taction said in the original 31-page complaint.

It also claimed that Apple “at a minimum believed there was a high probability that the accused products were covered by Taction’s patents, but willfully blinded itself to Taction’s patents and the infringing nature of the Accused Products”.

The jury, however, found that Apple did not wilfully infringe the patents.

Apple said it plans to appeal the verdict.

“Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial,” Apple said in response.

The verdict comes at a pivotal moment for the company, amid transitions in its C-suite. In September, John Ternus took over as CEO from Tim Cook, who led Apple for 15 years. The leadership change comes as the Cupertino, California-based tech giant lags behind other major technology companies in rolling out its artificial intelligence products.

Apple shares fell on Monday, declining about two percent as trading got underway.

加州陪审团裁定苹果公司侵犯了Taction公司的两项专利，但并非故意侵权；苹果公司计划提起上诉。

苹果公司表示计划对判决提出上诉。[图片：Dado Ruvic/路透社]

苹果公司被勒令支付超过 57 亿美元的赔偿金，原因是其使用了 Taction Technology 公司的专利技术来提供触觉反馈，即用户在收到通知或按下按钮时感受到的振动。

加州南区联邦法院陪审团裁定，iPhone 制造商侵犯了这家位于圣地亚哥的公司拥有的两项专利。

列表 1/4：约翰·特纳斯接替蒂姆·库克，成为苹果公司首席执行官，此前他已担任该职位 15 年。

列表 2/4：苹果在地图应用中将安大略湖更名为“美洲湖”

列表 3/4：苹果发布售价 1999 美元的 iPhone Duo，这是其首款可折叠手机

列表 4/4：苹果发布首款可折叠 iPhone Duo

“我们很高兴陪审团做出了有利于 Taction 的裁决，维护了其专利权，”Taction 的律师 Lance Yang 在周五的判决后表示。

这一判决标志着一场始于2021年的法律战的最终结果。当时，Taction首次对苹果公司提起诉讼。2023年，一位联邦法官裁定苹果公司并未侵犯Taction的专利，但上诉法院去年恢复了此案的审理。

Taction在最初提交的31页诉状中表示：“苹果公司利用Taction的创新和成功，销售侵犯Taction专利的设备。苹果公司未经Taction许可或授权，擅自使用Taction的专利发明。Taction提起诉讼是为了纠正苹果的侵权行为。”

诉讼还声称，苹果“至少认为被控侵权产品极有可能受到 Taction 专利的保护，但却故意对 Taction 的专利和被控侵权产品的性质视而不见”。

然而，陪审团认定苹果公司并非故意侵犯专利权。

苹果公司表示计划对判决提出上诉。

苹果公司回应称：“苹果的 Taptic Engine 与 Taction 的技术有着根本的不同，Taction 在试验期间对苹果产品的测试也证实了这一点。”

此次判决对苹果公司而言意义重大，正值其高管层人事变动之际。今年9月，约翰·特纳斯接替蒂姆·库克出任首席执行官，库克此前已领导苹果15年。此次领导层更迭之际，这家总部位于加州库比蒂诺的科技巨头在人工智能产品的推广方面落后于其他主要科技公司。

周一，苹果股价下跌，开盘后下跌约2%。