A judge has ordered Apple to pay $506 million to the research arm of the University of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, or WARF, sued Apple in 2014, accusing its A7, A8, and A8X chips of infringing US Patent No. 5,781,752, which claims a type of "table based data speculation circuit." The following year after a trial, a Wisconsin jury found (PDF) that Apple had infringed the '752 patent and that it should pay $234 million in damages.
Further Reading Jury orders Apple to pay $234 million for infringing university patents Yesterday's order (PDF), signed by US District Judge William Conley, more than doubles that amount. Conley awarded WARF $1.61 per unit for many of the iPad and iPhone devices that use the accused chips, up until the entry of judgment in October 2015. He also tacked on $2.74 per unit as a royalty payment covering the period from the date of judgment through December 26, 2016, which is when the '752 patent expired.
Since much of the argument over additional damages was redacted or sealed, it isn't clear exactly how many units the royalty was applied to. The total of $506 million also includes some court costs and post-judgment interest.
Apple has already filed papers to appeal the jury's verdict. A second WARF lawsuit against Apple, accusing a newer generation of products, is on hold while Apple appeals the first verdict.
Further Reading Intel badgered by U of Wisconsin speculation circuit patent WARF was one of the first university institutions to dive heavily into patent litigation. In a stream of lawsuits, WARF has demanded that it be paid royalties on a vast number of semiconductors.
Beginning around 2002, WARF sued Creative Technology, Sony, Toshiba, IBM, Samsung, and Infineon Technology. The research organization sued Siemens and AMD in 2006 and Intel in 2008. All of those cases resulted in settlements.
WARF also licensed with some companies without litigation, including Hitachi and Sanyo.
Spokespersons for both Apple and WARF declined to comment on the case.
rhymes_with_chicken on July 27th, 2017 at 02:46 UTC »
Trying to read the patent to see what was infringed upon
Ugh...my eyes are glazed over and I need a drink.
BilliousN on July 26th, 2017 at 22:41 UTC »
There are a bunch of false narratives being spread here, and I want to dispel them.
WARF won this lawsuit - NOT the UW-Madison. This distinction matters. WARF is actually the reason why UW-Madison is one of the top research universities in the country. It all goes back to the invention of Warfarin, and then synthesizing vitamin D. WARF took this UW research, defends the patents, and takes in the profits from licensing. It then uses this money to fund more research.
When research results in something profitable, WARF reaps the benefits, and the whole thing fuels SO MUCH ADVANCEMENT. Remember stem cells? You can thank Jamie Thompson at UW-Madison and his WARF funding.
UW-Madison invented the thing, and patented it first. That's how development works. The courts found Apple was in the wrong. Now, that money is going to be used to replace the federal funding that used to be used to advance our understanding of the world around us.
It won't go to a football team, nor will it lead to raised or lowered tuition. It is money going from one of the richest corporations in the world to one of the most innovative and publicly minded organizations in academia. This is a win for all of us.
GreasyLake87 on July 26th, 2017 at 20:43 UTC »
Apple reaching into their wallet..."506 Million? I don't have any small bills"