A federal jury in San Diego on Friday awarded Taction Technology $5.7 billion in damages, ruling that Apple infringed two of its haptics patents used in iPhones and Apple Watches. The verdict followed a lawsuit Taction filed in 2021.
The case centered on U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, covering vibration-based tactile transducer technology. Taction argued that Apple's Taptic Engine, embedded across its smartwatch and iPhone lines, utilized these inventions without licensing. Jurors found infringement on two claims within one patent and one claim in the other, though they did not determine willfulness.
Apple strongly disagreed with the verdict and damages. The company said it will appeal, maintaining that the Taptic Engine operates on a different technological foundation than Taction's patents—a position Apple said Taction's own trial testing of Apple products supported.
The jury trial began Sept. 14 and deliberated for two days. This decision reversed an Apple dismissal win from 2023 that the Federal Circuit had overturned.
The appeal will focus on patent validity, infringement scope, and damages quantum. A successful appeal could eliminate or substantially reduce the payout; a sustained verdict would represent a major cost to Apple's capital allocation in hardware innovation and shareholder returns.
The economic stakes cut deeper than headline damages. Haptic feedback is now a baseline expectation across consumer electronics—wearables in particular. If upheld, the verdict could force Apple to negotiate licensing rates for a technology it treats as integral to product experience rather than a discretionary feature. For hardware makers broadly, the case raises the cost of integrating vibration systems, potentially shifting development economics across the entire category.
