APPLE ORDERED TO PAY $5.7BN IN TACTION HAPTICS PATENT CASE

A US jury has ordered Apple to pay $5.7bn (£4.3bn) in damages for infringing two patents held by Taction Technology, maker of headphones and gaming headsets. The jury delivered its verdict on Friday in California's Southern District federal court. Taction, which supplied technology used in the Corsair HS60 headset, filed suit in 2021, alleging Apple's Taptic Engine infringed patents covering vibration-based haptics in the iPhone and Apple Watch. Jurors found Apple had used Taction's inventions without licence or authority, but did not find the infringement wilful. Apple said it strongly disagreed with the verdict and confirmed it would appeal.

Taction's patents, issued in 2020, cover vibration-based technology letting users feel a device respond to touch, known as haptic feedback. Apple's Taptic Engine, which first appeared in the Apple Watch in 2014, produces similar feedback for actions like messages and button presses. In its complaint, Taction said Apple had been "capitalising on Taction's innovation and success" by improving its devices using the disputed technology. A San Diego judge dismissed the case in 2023, ruling Apple had not infringed the patents, but a federal appeals court revived the claim, leading to a jury trial in September. Apple said its Taptic Engine is "fundamentally different" from Taction's technology, adding Taction's own testing confirmed this during the trial.

Apple said the damages were "entirely unsupported by the facts" and confirmed it would appeal. The case follows a separate lawsuit in which medical technology company Masimo won $634m from Apple in November 2025 over Apple Watch monitoring technology. It is one of several patent disputes Apple has faced in recent years. The appeal will determine whether the $5.7bn award stands.