Apple and Broadcom have been ordered by a jury to pay $1.1 billion to the California Institute of Technology for infringing the university’s patents. The jury has ruled that Apple must pay Caltech $837.8 million and Broadcom must pay $270.2 million.
However, Apple said that it is planning to appeal the ruling but has refused to say anything else about this. In a statement, Broadcom said that “we disagree with the factual and legal bases for the verdict and intend to appeal.”
In a statement, CalTech said: “We are pleased the jury found that Apple and Broadcom infringed Caltech patents. As a non-profit institution of higher education, Caltech is committed to protecting its intellectual property in furtherance of its mission to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education.”
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The case was filed in federal court in Los Angeles in 2016, in which the California-based research university alleged that Broadcom Wi-Fi chips used in hundreds of millions of Apple devices infringed patents relating to data transmission technology.
The technology relates to Wi-Fi chips Apple used in its iPhones, iPads, Macs and other devices from the year 2010 to 2017. Apple argued that it shouldn’t have been involved in the lawsuit — which was filed in 2016 — because it’s using off-the-shelf Broadcom chips, like many other handset makers.
Apple argued that “Broadcom manufactures the accused chips, while Apple is merely an indirect downstream party whose products incorporate the accused chips.” However, the jury disagreed with this argument.
Broadcom is a major Apple supplier, deriving about a fifth of its sales from the Cupertino-based company in its fiscal 2019. Last week, the company revealed that it had signed deals to sell as much as $15 billion worth of chips to Apple.
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