An intellectual property lawsuit over the Apple Watch’s Taptic Engine has resulted in a loss for Apple, as a jury ruled that it owes Taction more than $5.7 billion for infringing patents.
Apple and many other device manufacturers rely on haptic feedback to alert users that they have pressed a button successfully, as well as for alerts and message notifications. However, Apple’s implementation of the concept has resulted in a very hefty legal bill.
In April 2021, Taction Technology sued Apple for allegedly infringing on a pair of Taction patents, which were supposedly used in the Taptic Engine. Over five years later, Reuters reports that a jury has sided against Apple on the matter.
The verdict form reveals that Taction has managed to prove to the jury that Apple had infringed on two claims in one patent, and one in the other. However, on the second question, asking if Taction had proved Apple willfully infringed, the jury said it had not.
In effect, the jury says that Taction has proven Apple has infringed, but not that Apple did so knowingly. It wasn’t necessarily an intentional infringement by Apple.
The third page of the form asks if Apple had proved that the three argued claims were invalid. Apple failed on all three parts.
The fourth part of the form, where the jury determines the damages it believes Taction is owed from Apple, advises that Apple owes $5,721,961,750.
Following the result, Taction attorney Lance Yang said that the company was happy the jury found in its favor and vindicated its patent rights. Apple, meanwhile, insists it doesn’t use Taction’s technology and will appeal.
A brief legal history
Apple introduced the Taptic Engine with the Apple Watch in 2014, as a new kind of haptic feedback system that used a linear resonant actuator instead of vibratory motors. The change meant that there was a lot of control over the moving mass, allowing for tactile experiences ranging from buzzing and tapping to simulating a heartbeat.
It was so much of a success that the concept was incorporated into other products, including the iPhone.
In 2021, Taction sued Apple, saying Apple initially used coil springs to provide controlled resistance to Taptic’s moving mass, complete with a central locating rod. Newer designs use flexures with ferrofluid to locate the mass and provide controlled resistance.
Apple was accused of buying and reverse-engineering two Kannon headsets that used the technology.
A San Diego federal judge ruled in 2023 that Apple did not infringe the patents. However the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revived the case in 2025.