Apple hit with $5.7 billion in damages over haptic patents

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/268738_Apple_Watch_Series_12_AKrales_0277.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Haptics tech company Taction <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.casd.705779/gov.uscourts.casd.705779.1.0.pdf">sued Apple</a> in 2021, alleging it infringed two of its patents. Now a federal jury in San Diego has awarded Taction over $5.7 billion in damages. According to <em><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/26/apple-taction-technology-patent-infringement-verdict.html">CNBC</a></em>, "The lawsuit centered around U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, which both involve vibration-based, tactile transducer technology that helps users feel a device responding to their input."</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Taction argued that Apple's Taptic Engine in its Apple Watches and iPhones used technology that it had developed without a proper license, and the jury agreed. It found that Apple had infringed on two claims in one patent and one in the other. However, the j …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/tech/1001118/apple-hit-with-5-7-billion-in-damages-over-haptic-patents">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>