Apple is asking a federal judge in the United States to throw out a $5.7 billion patent infringement judgment won by Taction Technology, a case centered on the Taptic Engine haptic technology used in iPhones and Apple Watches, according to a report.
Weeks ago, a jury ruled that Apple (AAPL) must pay $5.7 billion after finding that the company infringed two patents held by Taction Technology that relate to the Taptic Engine technology Apple devices use to deliver haptic feedback. At the time, Apple said it strongly disagreed with the jury's verdict and damages amount, calling them "completely unsupported by the facts." Apple stressed that there are "fundamental differences" between its own technology and the technology covered by Taction's two patents, and announced plans to appeal.
Why Apple wants the verdict thrown out
Today, Apple filed a new motion asking the court to set aside the jury's verdict. Apple argues that Taction failed to provide sufficient evidence to support any damages at all, let alone a payout of $5.7 billion. Apple noted that the figure is "the largest patent verdict in history, exceeding the previous record by more than $3 billion."
Apple added that, before trial, the court excluded the analysis of Taction's damages expert because the expert's method for calculating royalties based on past license agreements was flawed, and the expert was later barred from testifying. Apple also argued that Taction never produced evidence of the actual value of its patented technology, and instead simply asked jurors to award what they considered a reasonable patent license fee, leaving jurors "to engage in widespread, impermissible subjective speculation."
The judge's own doubts about the number
In its motion, Apple also noted that before the damages award was announced, the judge told counsel that he was "not sure whether the number on the verdict form was the result the jury intended to express," raising questions about whether $5.7 billion was truly the jury's intent.
Apple's harsher allegation
Apple leveled a more severe accusation: that Taction's core technical expert, Dr. Oliver, relied on a "manipulated" test to reach the patent infringement conclusion. In simple terms, the technology described by the two Taction patents at issue aims to output stable vibration across different frequencies. Apple argues that its Taptic Engine works differently, with vibration intensity at some frequencies far higher than at others. Apple further alleged that Dr. Oliver developed an entirely new testing method specifically for this lawsuit, one that measures the ability of Apple's electronic control system to regulate Taptic Engine vibration rather than whether the underlying hardware meets the patent requirements.
Excerpts from the filing
Finally, Apple argued that if Taction's interpretation of the patents is accepted, the patent claims at issue are themselves invalid. Apple contends that the test method used to determine infringement contradicts the method described in the patent documents and cannot clearly define the actual scope of protection.
For these reasons, Apple is asking the court to set aside the jury verdict, find that Taction is entitled to no damages, and determine that Apple did not infringe these patents of questionable validity. If the court does not grant that request, Apple wants a new trial on infringement, patent validity and damages.
Apple's motion has now been filed, and the jury verdict has not yet become a final judgment. The court will next deliberate on whether to uphold the $5.7 billion award, vacate the verdict, or order a retrial.
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