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Apple Hit With $5.7 Billion Verdict Over Taptic Engine Haptics

The jury award creates large financial exposure for Apple and sets up a likely multi‑year appeals fight.

Overview

  • A federal jury in San Diego returned a verdict on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, finding Apple infringed claims in two haptics patents and awarding Taction $5,721,961,750 in damages.
  • The patents at issue are U.S. Patent Nos. 10,659,885 and 10,820,117, which cover vibration-based tactile transducer technology used to create device feedback.
  • The jury found infringement on three specific claims across the two patents and rejected Apple’s invalidity defenses for those claims.
  • The jurors declined to find Apple’s infringement willful, and Apple has said it does not use Taction’s technology and intends to appeal the verdict.
  • The ruling follows a long legal path that began with Taction’s 2021 suit, a 2023 dismissal, a 2025 Federal Circuit revival, and it could trigger damage reductions, remittitur, retrial on damages, or years of appellate review that would affect licensing and product design decisions for haptics.