Apple, Known for Filing Lawsuits Left and Right, Loses Patent Trial: "Pay 7.7 Trillion Won"

[Financial News]  

A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego ruled on the 25th, local time, that Apple must pay $5.7 billion, or approximately 7.74 trillion won, for patent infringement.
According to CNBC on the 27th, the jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by Taction Technology in 2021. The company alleged that Apple had infringed two patents related to its vibration and haptic technologies.
Taction Technology claimed at the time that Apple had sold smartphones that infringed its vibration-technology patents. Apple initially won a dismissal in 2023, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later reopened the case.
In a statement sent to CNBC, Apple said, "We strongly disagree with this verdict and the damages award," and argued, "It is entirely inconsistent with the facts." The statement continued, "Apple's Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction's technology. This was also confirmed in court through Taction's own testing of Apple products. Apple did not use Taction's technology and will appeal."
Lance Yang, a partner at Quinn Emanuel who led the plaintiff's legal team, said, "We are pleased that the jury validated Taction's claims and awarded damages for patent infringement." He added, "Taction waited five and a half years for this lawsuit. It took a long time."
The lawsuit concerned patents for so-called haptics technology. Haptics is a technology that delivers information or feedback to users through touch. Rather than sight or sound, it uses vibration, force, texture and electrostatic effects to simulate the physical sensation of touching or pressing a real object.
The technology conveys the vibration felt at the fingertips when pressing a smartphone touchscreen, the sensation of rain falling in a video game on a game console, and the resistance felt when drawing a bowstring. It can also transmit a sensation to a doctor controlling a remote surgical robot as if the doctor were actually touching a patient's organs or tissue.
The jury trial began on the 14th, and the seven-member jury deliberated for two days after the proceedings concluded. The verdict was delivered on the afternoon of the 25th.
However, the jury did not find Apple's infringement willful.
[email protected] Song Gyeong-jae Reporter