Abstract:
After obtaining a record $5.7 billion patent infringement verdict, US patent holding company Taction is seeking to further increase Apple’s compensation amount, hoping that the court will include some product sales in 2026 within the scope of compensation and add hundreds of millions of dollars in pre-judgment interest.
Previously, a jury ruled that Apple infringed two patents held by Taction, but found that the relevant infringements were not intentional. Apple has always denied wrongdoing and has appealed the $5.7 billion verdict.
According to reports, Taction recently submitted an application to a federal judge asking for more compensation from Apple Pay. The company believes that the currently determined compensation amount only covers relevant sales activities between 2021 and March 2026. For about six months after that, Apple continued to sell products involved in the case, so the scope of compensation should be further expanded to include sales revenue in additional periods.
In addition to additional damages, Taction also seeks prejudgment interest based on California's statutory interest rate of 7%. Considering the compensation base of US$5.7 billion, the interest component alone may reach an extremely considerable amount, adding hundreds of millions of dollars to the already huge amount of compensation.
Taction told the court that although the amount of compensation awarded by the jury was large, it should not be a reason to refuse to pay interest. In its view, the relevant interest is part of normal legal remedies and should be calculated and paid in accordance with the law.
Meanwhile, Apple is still actively challenging the ruling. The company believes that the jury lacked sufficient basis when determining the amount of damages and there were problems with the relevant calculation methods, so the verdict was unreliable.
Apple also claims that there is a contradiction between the legal logic of the case itself and the so-called infringement determination. It hopes to overturn the entire ruling through subsequent judicial procedures, and even strive to obtain a summary judgment result in its favor. However, so far, the court has not made a final decision on Apple’s relevant request.
The dispute stems from patent litigation involving tactile feedback technology in iPhone and Apple Watch. If Taction's latest request is supported, Apple's potential liability will further increase, escalating a case that has already set a record for U.S. patent litigation compensation.
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