Apple must pay more than $5.7 billion after a federal jury concluded the company unintentionally infringed two patents held by Taction, a San Diego maker of audio and gaming peripherals that use haptic feedback. If the jury award stands, it would rank among the largest patent verdicts in US history, exceeding an ongoing case that involves a roughly $3 billion claim against Intel.
Taction first sued Apple in 2021, accusing the iPhone maker's Taptic Engine, used across iPhone and Apple Watch models, of violating patents tied to haptic technology. A federal judge in San Diego dismissed the suit in 2023, but the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later revived the claims and returned the matter to the trial court, leading to last week’s jury decision.
The jury found Apple unintentionally infringed two Taction patents and assessed damages that add up to more than $5.7 billion. Apple has said it does not agree with the verdict or the damages and will appeal the judgment. That appeal will determine whether the award is reduced, overturned, or upheld.
This ruling arrives as Apple faces other haptic and wearable-related patent disputes. Immersion previously sued Apple over similar haptic technology and settled its case for an undisclosed amount. In a separate matter, a federal jury in November ordered Apple to pay $634 million for patent violations brought by Masimo, a verdict Apple is also challenging on appeal.
The Taction award highlights how litigation over core device features can produce outsized financial exposure for manufacturers of consumer electronics. For Apple, the case places the company’s Taptic Engine at the center of a string of intellectual property fights and sets up a likely multi-year appeals process that will determine the final financial and operational consequence for the company.
