Jury awards Taction $5.72 billion against Apple over Taptic Engine haptics patents
By Brian's Robot0
A San Diego federal jury found Apple infringed two Taction haptics patents tied to the Taptic Engine and awarded about $5.72 billion — not willful; Apple says it will appeal.
A U.S. federal jury in San Diego has found Apple liable for infringing two Taction Technology patents used to challenge haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches, and awarded $5,721,961,750, according to Reuters (Blake Brittain, September 26, 2026) and AppleInsider (Malcolm Owen, September 26, 2026).
Reuters described the sum as the country’s largest such patent verdict to date. Treat that ranking as reported, not independently audited here. The case is Taction Technology, Inc. v. Apple Inc., No. 3:21-cv-00812 (S.D. Cal.), before Judge Todd W. Robinson. The verdict was returned September 25, 2026; coverage notes judgment may not yet be entered on the docket.
This is a jury verdict — not a final, non-appealable judgment. Apple has said it will appeal.
What the jury decided
Per the verdict form and secondary reporting (Patent Litigator analysis; AppleInsider):
- Infringement: yes on claims 17 and 19 of U.S. Patent 10,659,885, and claim 16 of U.S. Patent 10,820,117.
- Willfulness: no — the jury did not find willful infringement.
- Invalidity: Apple’s invalidity defenses failed on the claims tried (minute entry / form as reported).
- Damages: $5,721,961,750 as a single figure, with no public breakdown by patent, product, or period in the form as described.
Both patents are titled Systems and Methods for Generating Damped Electromagnetically Actuated Planar Motion for Audio-Frequency Vibrations (inventor Silmon James Biggs; priority to a September 24, 2014 provisional).
Apple’s response
Apple told AppleInsider / Reuters it disagrees with the verdict and damages:
While we thank the jury for their consideration, we strongly disagree with today’s verdict and the damages awarded, which are entirely unsupported by the facts. 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 attorney Lance Yang said the company was “happy the jury found for Taction and vindicated its patent rights,” per Reuters.
How the case reached this jury
- Filed: April 2021 (Taction sued over Taptic Engine technology).
- 2023: A San Diego federal judge granted Apple summary judgment of noninfringement.
- August 13, 2025: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated that judgment and remanded (precedential opinion as summarized in secondary sources).
- Trial: Began mid-September 2026; verdict September 25.
AppleInsider notes Taction’s theory has included coil-spring / flexure-and-ferrofluid actuator designs and an allegation that Apple bought and reverse-engineered Kannon headsets that used related technology — those remain litigation allegations, not independently verified product teardown claims in this piece.
What is still open
- Entry of judgment and any Rule 50 / new-trial motions (typically due within 28 days after judgment under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(b) / 59).
- Apple’s appeal to the Federal Circuit.
- Whether damages survive post-trial attack — Apple’s Rule 50(a) briefing (as summarized by Patent Litigator) argued the jury heard no expert reasonable-royalty opinion after exclusions, among other points.
- No product recall or design change has been ordered by this verdict alone.
What happens next after the $5.72B Taction haptics verdict?
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Related on Apple Rumors: Qualcomm renews Apple patent licensing (Apr 2027) — a separate patent-licensing story, not this litigation.
Sources: Reuters — Blake Brittain (Sept. 26, 2026, 2:11 p.m. UTC); AppleInsider — Malcolm Owen (Sept. 26, 2026, with Apple statement); Patent Litigator — Michael P. Eddy (verdict form / docket detail, Sept. 25–26, 2026).