Apple faces $5.72 billion fine in Taptic Engine patent case

Apple is facing a $5.7 billion compensation penalty in the patent case regarding Taptic Engine technology. Here are the details of the case.

Apple is facing one of the largest patent infringement decisions ever in the US due to the Taptic Engine technology used in iPhone and Apple Watch models. A federal jury in San Diego ruled that Apple infringed two patents belonging to Taction Technology and awarded the company $5.72 billion in damages.

If the decision becomes final, it will be recorded as one of the highest-consistency patent infringement decisions in the USA. The technology at issue is the Taptic Engine system, which provides the vibrating feedback iPhone and Apple Watch users feel when they touch the screen or interact with the device.

Taction filed a lawsuit against the company in 2021, claiming that Apple used vibration technology protected by its own patents in this system. In the case in question, it was argued that two patents issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office, numbered 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, were violated.

These patents cover electromagnetic actuator and vibration technologies used to create vibrations that users can feel through touch. Taction claimed that the haptic feedback system developed by Apple violated its property rights.

Details of patent infringement case

Interestingly, Apple was in a more advantageous position in the early stages of the case. The federal court in San Diego stopped the case by granting summary judgment in favor of Apple in 2023.

However, Taction appealed the decision, and the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the lower court's decision, paving the way for a retrial of the case in 2025. After the hearings started in September 2026, the jury evaluated for approximately two days and announced its decision on September 25.

The jury found that Apple infringed certain claims in two Taction patents. However, as an important detail, it was decided that the violation was not intentional.

The total compensation determined by the jury was announced as 5,721,961,750 dollars. According to the case file, the final court decision is still expected to be recorded.

Legal process and Apple's objection

Apple, on the other hand, does not accept the jury's decision and announced that it will appeal the decision. The company argues that the Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from the technology described in Taction's patents.

Apple also objected to the validity of Taction's patents during the lawsuit. Therefore, the figure announced by the jury does not yet mean the final amount that Apple will definitely pay.

This isn't the only patent dispute Apple has faced regarding haptic technology. The company had previously faced a patent lawsuit filed by Immersion regarding haptic technologies used in iPhone, Apple Watch and MacBooks.

The parties later reached a settlement of an undisclosed amount in the Immersion case. Apple is also involved in a separate patent dispute with Masimo over its ability to measure blood oxygen on the Apple Watch.

In the Masimo case, the jury decided that Apple should pay $634 million. Apple plans to appeal this decision as well.

These high compensation decisions that Apple is facing show how complex the legal struggles of technology giants over intellectual property rights can become. Do you think Apple can overturn this record compensation decision during the appeal process?