What the $5.7 Billion Taction–Apple Haptics Verdict Means

A federal jury in San Diego found that Apple’s Taptic Engine infringed two Taction Technology patents related to haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches. It awarded Taction more than $5.7 billion, a verdict reported as the largest of its kind in the United States. The jury did not find the infringement willful, and Apple says it plans to appeal. 135

What the jury decided

The case concerned haptic feedback: the vibrations users feel as a device responds to touch. The jury found Apple’s Taptic Engine infringed claims in two Taction patents. The verdict included damages of more than $5.7 billion, but it did not establish that Apple had willfully infringed. 135

The patents are U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117. The products at issue were iPhones and Apple Watches that use Apple’s Taptic Engine. 1

What Apple and Taction said

Apple disputes the verdict. It says the Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, denies using Taction’s technology and says it will appeal. 16

Taction welcomed the jury’s decision, saying it vindicated the company’s patent rights, according to a report on its response. Taction uses its haptic technology in headphones and gaming headsets. 15

How the case reached the jury

Taction sued Apple in 2021. In 2023, a district court ruled for Apple on non-infringement at summary judgment. 25

On August 13, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated that ruling and sent the case back for further proceedings. That cleared the way for the dispute to proceed to trial and the jury’s infringement and damages findings.

What happens next

The jury’s award is a verdict, not evidence that Apple has already paid Taction. Apple has said it will appeal, so the legal dispute is continuing. The jury’s finding that infringement was not willful is also distinct from its finding that claims in the two patents were infringed. 356