US jury says Apple owes a record $5.7 billion over Taptic Engine haptics patents

[DodgyCoder]

Apple has been hit with a huge verdict in a San Diego federal court. A jury found that the Taptic Engine used in iPhones and Apple Watches infringed two haptic feedback patents owned by Taction, a San Diego company that makes haptic peripherals. The damages come to $5.7 billion, which reports are calling a record for a patent case of this kind. Apple disputes both the verdict and the amount and says it will appeal

The case has been going on for a while. Taction filed its lawsuit back in 2021, and it was dismissed in 2023 before the Federal Circuit appeals court brought it back to life. It has been a long road for Taction. Now a jury has sided with Taction on Friday, although it found the infringement was unintentional. That detail matters, because wilful infringement can lead to damages being increased

This is not Apple's first run in with haptics patents either. It previously settled a similar case with Immersion Corporation for an undisclosed sum. It is also fighting a separate $634 million judgment from Masimo over the blood oxygen feature on the Apple Watch. For a company that sells as many devices as Apple, even a small per unit royalty turns into a massive figure very quickly

The Taptic Engine is one of those bits of hardware most people never think about, but it is behind the little clicks and taps you feel all day. The fake home button on older iPhones, keyboard feedback and watch notifications all rely on it. So it is easy to see why a jury might think the technology is worth a lot. Whether it is worth $5.7 billion is another matter entirely

My guess is this number will not survive the appeal intact. Large patent verdicts are often cut down or overturned on appeal, and Apple has the resources to fight it for years. Still, it is a big moment for a relatively small company taking on the biggest name in tech. The next round will be fought in the appeals court. Is this a fair reward for an inventor, or just another example of patent law gone mad?

US jury says Apple owes record $5.7 billion in haptic technology patent case - The Economic Timeseconomictimes.indiatimes.com

[StormForge62]

Will this affect iPhone prices at all? Probably not directly, but these costs end up somewhere. Apple is not the kind of company that absorbs expenses quietly

[StoneCold]

The case being dismissed in 2023 and then revived on appeal is interesting. It suggests there was a real legal question here rather than a nuisance claim

Appeal courts do not bring cases back for no reason. Apple's lawyers will know that. They will be preparing for a long fight

[CharlotteFlair]

Taction is a real company making real haptic products, not a shell that exists only to sue people. That makes me more sympathetic to them than to the usual patent trolls. Small firms do get steamrolled by big tech copying ideas. Sometimes a big verdict is the only way to be heard

[Memory Jaguar]

Unintentional infringement and still $5.7 billion is wild. Imagine what the figure would have been if the jury thought Apple did it on purpose

[MagnetarX]

Between this and Masimo, Apple Watch legal bills must be enormous. The blood oxygen saga alone has been running for years and forced Apple to change how the feature works in the US. Now haptics is under fire as well. The watch has become a legal magnet

Apple will probably just keep paying lawyers. It can afford to

[Slate Mike]

People forget how central haptics are to the iPhone experience. Turn them off for a day and it feels like a completely different phone

If Taction came up with the core idea, they deserve to be paid. The question is how much of the Taptic Engine relies on their patents

[HulkHogan_Dev]

Apple will appeal and this will drag on for another five years at least. The figure makes a great headline, but I would be surprised if Taction sees anything close to it. Big verdicts get trimmed all the time

[Hidden Isaac]

Patent law in the US needs reform. When a single component can be valued at billions because of how many units sell, damages stop reflecting the actual contribution. Apple did not become successful because of a vibration motor. The whole system rewards litigation over invention. Other countries do this far more sensibly

[Weary Wolfhound]

San Diego juries seem to be a tough place for big tech defendants. Apple and Qualcomm had their long running fights down there too. Home town company versus Cupertino giant is never going to be a neutral setup

That is not to say the verdict is wrong. It just adds some context to how these cases play out

[LuckySentinel]

Five point seven billion - that's a lot of haptic feedback to explain to future generations! I keep picturing the Taptic Engine as the nervous system of the iPhone, and suddenly it's being told it trespassed on someone else's sidewalk. Kinda like walking through your own house and getting a surprise bill because the foundation was laid on disputed land. On the bright side, this shows how deeply woven Apple's innovations are into the hardware we touch every day - you can feel the difference, and courts feel it too. Maybe next time I'll tap my screen and think 'that's a legally protected vibration.' Love it. On the flip side, big tech getting tagged in San Diego isn't exactly new - seems like that courthouse has a knack for settling scoreboards. But hey, even if Apple writes the check, I still bet you'll be tapping along just the same. The real win here is everyone noticing how much design goes into something as small as a gentle buzz.