Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion Over Haptic Patent Infringement

A few things. Yes, Taction Technologies has real products (used in various headphones) -- in case anyone is wondering about whether the company is only a patent troll.

"The jury did not find Apple’s infringement willful."

Here's a little background and interpretation, based on my readings of this over the weekend.

What's complicated about this case is that Apple developed the Taptic Engine before Taction filed its original patent application. Apple's original Taptic Engine was different from what Taction later patented. However, Apple subsequently redesigned the Taptic Engine, and those later designs incorporated a combination of suspensions and ferrofluid damping that a jury (in California -- this isn't in Texas) has now found fall within Taction's patent claims.

Apple clearly had been working on its taptic engine so there is prior (parallel) work/art/development at play here. Because this was found as not willful, this shows Apple was working on the same ideas Taction's engineers were. Taction might have simply patented first and Apple ostensibly didn't check the existing patents first (or did and ignored them, but that's pure speculation) or didn't see enough overlap to consider Taction's patents as covering Apple's designs.

This isn't a case where it's fair to blame Apple or Tim Cook or whomever if there is no willful infringement -- especially since we don't know all the facts and Apple could win on appeal. I'm guessing this $5.7 billion will be overturned and/or there might be some sort of settlement.

A few things. Yes, Taction Technologies has real products (used in various headphones) -- in case anyone is wondering about whether the company is a patent troll.

"The jury did not find Apple’s infringement willful."

Here's a little background and interpretation, based on my own readings of this over the weekend.

Apple independently developed the Taptic Engine before Taction filed its original patent application. Apple's original Taptic Engine was different from what Taction later patented. However, Apple subsequently redesigned the Taptic Engine, and those later designs incorporated a combination of suspensions and ferrofluid damping that a jury (in California -- this isn't in Texas) has now found fall within Taction's patent claims. As this was not willful, it's even more complicated.

I'm guessing this 5.7 billion will be overturned but there will be some sort of settlement. But, Apple clearly had been working on its taptic engine so there can be prior (parallel) work/art/development at play here. This isn't a case where it's fair to blame Apple or Tim Cook or whomever -- especially since we don't know all the facts and Apple could win on appeal.

You're doing it wrong. You're not supposed to look into things to find facts and nuance. You're supposed to just reflexively hate!

Timmy, what have you done?
It all come to surface, sooner or later.

The award will be reduced on appeal or they will settle before the appeal with an iron clad NDA.

It just looks like two separate teams came to the same technological conclusion at roughly the same time and one got to the patent office first. It happens.

Now the price hike makes sense

Sometimes I think that there is just a limited way to accomplish a task, and engineering will inevitably arrive at that best solution. No need to reinvent the wheel, as it were