Apple escapes billion-dollar patent litigation damages

Since 2016, there has been an ongoing patent dispute between the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) on the one hand and Apple and Broadcom on the other.

The latest development in the case is the news that a federal appeals court has ruled that Apple and Broadcom do not have to pay $1.1bn (roughly £810m) in damages to Caltech over two Wi-Fi patents. This exceptionally high figure had been awarded by a jury back in January 2020, but the appeals court has now declared the decision to be “legally unsupportable”.

The appeals court has, however, upheld the infringements themselves. As for the third disputed patent, that dispute will be settled in a new trial, reports the Reuters news agency.

It should be noted that, under the US legal system, it is in principle possible to carry on appealing against a judgment as long as one can afford it. This gives Apple, which has more money than any other company on the planet, a big advantage, and there could be many more twists and turns in the case.

This article originally appeared on Macworld Sweden. Translation (using DeepL) and additional reporting by David Price.