A jury in the federal court for the Southern District of California has found that Apple infringed two patents owned by San Diego-based Taction Technology, ordering the iPhone maker to pay more than $5.7bn. The patents relate to haptic feedback — the vibrations users feel when they receive a notification or press a button.

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. In its original 31-page complaint, Taction alleged that 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.” 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. “We’re happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” said Taction attorney Lance Yang following the verdict on Friday. 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.

Source: www.aljazeera.com