US court fines Apple for patent infringement

A federal court jury in the US ruled that the haptic feedback technology used by Apple in its iPhone and Apple Watch models violates two patents.

In line with the decision, Apple was decided to pay more than 5.7 billion dollars in compensation to San Diego-based technology company Taction.

Apple announced that it would object to the decision and appeal the case.

The jury concluded that the Taptic Engine technology, which creates touch and vibration sensations in Apple devices, infringes two patents belonging to Taction.

It was stated that the decision in question was one of the most consistent decisions given by a jury regarding patent infringement in the USA.

Apple, on the other hand, argued that Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from the technology developed by Taction. The company stated that the tests carried out by Taction on its own products revealed this difference and stated that it did not use the technology in question.

Apple announced that it would appeal the jury decision.

In his statement after the verdict, Taction's lawyer Lance Yang stated that they were pleased that the jury ruled in favor of the company and said that the decision confirmed the patent rights.

Taction, which develops haptic technologies used in headphones and gaming headsets, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple in 2021.

While Apple maintained that it did not infringe the patents throughout the trial, it also claimed that Taction's patents were invalid.

The federal court in San Diego ruled in favor of Apple in 2023, ruling that the company did not infringe patents. However, the US Federal Court of Appeals overturned this decision last year and paved the way for the case to be retried.

In the retrial, the jury concluded that Apple infringed two patents.

In addition to the patent lawsuit, Apple is also facing another multibillion-dollar lawsuit in the UK.

In June, the UK Competition Appeal Court allowed the £3 billion, nearly $4 billion class action lawsuit filed by consumer rights organization Which against Apple to proceed. It is stated that the case covers approximately 40 million iCloud users.

Which argues that by associating Apple's iCloud service with iOS devices, it makes it harder for users to switch to rival cloud storage services. The organization argues that this situation weakens competition and leads to higher prices for consumers.

Apple denies the allegations. The company states that using iCloud is not mandatory and users in the UK can use alternative cloud storage services.