US jury says Apple owes record $5.7 billion in haptic technology patent case
File photo of the logo of Apple is illuminated at a store in the city center in Munich, Germany, on Dec. 16, 2020. (AP)
A US jury ruled that Apple owes San Diego-based Taction more than $5.7 billion for using its patented technology to power the haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches. Apple said it would appeal the country’s largest such verdict to date.
The jury said on Friday that Apple’s Taptic Engine, which creates tapping vibrations, infringed two Taction patents.
“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.
“Apple does not use Taction’s technology, and we will appeal,” it added in a statement.
“We’re happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” said Taction attorney Lance Yang.
Taction, which uses its technology in headphones and gaming headsets, filed the lawsuit in 2021.
Apple denied the allegations and said the patents were invalid.
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The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revived the case last year after a San Diego federal judge ruled in 2023 that Apple did not infringe the patents.
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