A federal jury in San Diego has handed Apple a sweeping patent loss, awarding Taction Technology more than $5.7 billion in damages after finding the company infringed claims from two haptics patents tied to vibration-based tactile feedback in the iPhone and Apple Watch.
The verdict, returned Friday after a two-day jury deliberation, marks one of the most significant patent awards in recent years and lands at a sensitive moment for Apple, whose hardware business remains central to its financial performance and market valuation. The seven-member jury began hearing the case on Sept. 14 and returned its decision at 1:15 p.m. PT, siding with Taction on the core infringement claims but not finding that Apple's conduct was willful.
Taction filed the lawsuit in 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, accusing Apple of improperly "capitalizing on Taction's innovation and success" by selling devices that allegedly used its vibration technology without permission. The dispute centered on U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, both of which cover vibration-based tactile transducer technology designed to help users physically feel a device respond to touch or input.
At the heart of the case was Apple's "Taptic Engine," the haptic feedback system embedded in many of its products, including iPhones and Apple Watches. Taction argued that Apple's implementation used its inventions without a license or authority, while Apple maintained that its technology was fundamentally different.
Apple said in a statement to CNBC that it "strongly disagree[s] with today's verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts." The company added that "Apple's Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction's technology, which Taction's own testing of Apple's products confirmed during trial. Apple does not use Taction's technology, and we will appeal."
Taction's lead counsel, Lance Yang, a partner at Quinn Emanuel, said the jury's decision vindicated the company's patent rights after a long legal battle. "We're happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights," Yang told CNBC. "Taction waited five and a half years for this case to get to trial, so it was a long time coming."
The case has already taken a winding path through the courts. Apple initially won dismissal in 2023, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later revived the case, allowing Taction to press its claims before a jury. That procedural history suggests the dispute may not be over, particularly given Apple's stated intention to appeal and the extraordinary size of the damages award.
The verdict also raises broader questions about how courts value intellectual property in consumer electronics, especially when a patented feature is deeply integrated into a product line that generates hundreds of billions of dollars in annual revenue. Haptics are a subtle but important part of the user experience, shaping the feel of notifications, taps, and system responses across Apple's devices. A ruling of this magnitude could influence future licensing negotiations and embolden other patent holders to challenge major technology companies over embedded hardware features.
For Apple, the immediate financial impact will depend on the next steps in post-trial motions and the appeals process, both of which could reduce, delay, or potentially overturn the award. But the jury's finding alone is a notable legal setback for a company that has long defended its hardware design and component technologies as proprietary innovations developed in-house.
The case now moves into what is likely to be a prolonged appellate battle, with billions of dollars and the scope of Apple's haptics technology hanging in the balance.