Apple may have to pay up to $800,000,000 in damages

CalTech wins $1.1 billion - jury verdict in patent case against Apple and Broadcom

Court verdict in the Wi-Fi patent case

In a case filed in federal court in Los Angeles in 2016, the research university based in Pasadena, California, claimed that Broadcom Wi-Fi chips used in hundreds of millions of Apple iPhones infringed patents related to data transmission technology.

"While we thank the jury for their work, we disagree with the factual and legal bases of the verdict and intend to appeal," Broadcom said in a statement.

Apple and Broadcom reactions to the verdict

As reported by Reuters. Apple says it plans to appeal the verdict but declines to comment further. The company states in court filings that it believes all of the university's claims against it stemmed from the use of Broadcom chips. It also calls them "insignificant."

Broadcom is a major Apple supplier, deriving about one-fifth of its sales from the iPhone maker in 2019. Last week, Broadcom reported that it had signed additional sales agreements with Apple worth as much as $15 billion.

Damages: $837.8 million from Apple and $270.2 million from Broadcom

The verdict awarded CalTech $837.8 million from Apple and $270.2 million from Broadcom.

About Broadcom

Broadcom Inc. is a global leader in infrastructure technology, innovation, collaboration and engineering excellence. Building on the rich technology heritage of AT & T / Bell Labs, Lucent and Hewlett-Packard / Agilent, Broadcom focuses on technologies that connect our world. Through the combination of industry leaders: Broadcom, LSI, Broadcom Corporation, Brocade, CA Technologies and Symantec, the company has the capabilities to lead the industry into the future.

Summary

The California Institute of Technology (CalTech) won a patent lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom concerning Wi-Fi chips used in iPhones. The total damages amount to more than $1.1 billion, of which $837.8 million was awarded against Apple and $270.2 million against Broadcom. Both companies announced they would appeal, and Apple claims the claims stem solely from the use of its supplier's components.

The case has been ongoing since 2016, and Broadcom remains a key Apple partner - in 2019 it accounted for about one-fifth of the supplier's sales. Despite the dispute, the companies signed further contracts worth as much as $15 billion, which shows that patent conflicts do not rule out business cooperation on a huge scale.