A US federal jury has ordered Apple to pay more than $5.7 billion to Taction Technology after finding that the technology behind the iPhone maker’s haptic feedback system infringed two of the company’s patents. The verdict, delivered Friday in San Diego, is the largest US patent award of its kind to date, according to Reuters.
The case concerns Apple’s Taptic Engine, the technology that produces the tapping and vibration feedback users feel when interacting with devices such as iPhones and Apple Watches. The jury found that the system infringed two Taction patents covering vibration-based tactile technology.
Apple plans to appeal
Apple rejected the verdict and said its Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology. The company also disputed the damages awarded by the jury and said it would appeal the decision.
“Apple does not use Taction’s technology, and we will appeal,” Apple said in a statement, adding that Taction’s own testing of Apple products during the trial confirmed differences between the two technologies.
Taction attorney Lance Yang welcomed the verdict, saying the company was pleased that the jury had upheld its patent rights. Taction filed the lawsuit against Apple in 2021, alleging that the company had used its patented vibration technology in its products without authorization.
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A five-year legal battle
The dispute centers on two US patents, Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, covering vibration-based tactile transducer technology that allows users to feel a device respond to their input. Taction argued that Apple’s Taptic Engine, used in iPhones and Apple Watches, incorporated technology covered by those patents.
Apple denied the allegations and argued that the patents were invalid. A federal judge in San Diego ruled in Apple’s favor in 2023, finding that the company had not infringed the patents, but the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revived the case last year, allowing it to proceed to trial.
The trial began Sept. 14, with seven jurors deliberating for two days before delivering their verdict on Friday. The jury found that Apple infringed the patents but did not determine that the infringement was willful.
Taction uses its haptic technology in products including headphones and gaming headsets. The company is based in California.
