Apple Caltech Billion-Dollar Patent Lawsuit Ends With Settlement
Caltech accused Apple and Broadcom of infringing on Wi-Fi patent technologies that are key to 802.11n and 802.11ac standards.
- Caltech has reached a settlement with Apple and Broadcom, ending a patent dispute over Wi-Fi chips that had been going on since 2016.
- The infringed tech was found in millions of Apple devices that made use of Broadcom-manufactured chips.
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has reached a settlement with tech giants Apple and Broadcom over a billion-dollar patent infringement lawsuit that involved the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress.
The lawsuit was initially filed by Caltech in 2016, accusing Broadcom and Apple of infringing on its patents for wireless communication. Broadcom chips using the infringed technology were found in millions of Apple devices, including Apple Watches, iPhones, and iPads. Apple countersued Caltech in an attempt to challenge the validity of the patents but was unsuccessful.
Initially, Apple and Broadcom were ordered to pay $837.8 million and $270.2 million respectively. However, these payments were overturned in a federal appeals court in 2021, denying Caltech’s argument that it could have negotiated license agreements for the chips. A trial to redetermine the amounts was indefinitely postponed in May 2023, following which all parties informed the court about a settlement. The settlement amount remains undisclosed.
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With the settlement, Caltech has informed a California U.S. District Court that it would drop its claims with prejudice, removing any chance of the suit being refiled. Apple is also dismissing all related counterclaims. Caltech’s patent is critical to the technology used in 802.11n and 802.11ac Wi-Fi standards. The patents were aimed at data transmission technology.
Caltech settled a similar lawsuit with Samsung in August 2023. In addition, the University is engaged in a number of pending lawsuits with various tech companies, including HP, Microsoft, and Dell.
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