Apple, Broadcom wins new test $ 1.1BN in Caltech patent case | New Technologies

Caltech sued Apple and Broadcom in May 2016, alleging that millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Clocks, and other devices that used Broadcom chips had infringed data transmission patents.

A U.S. court of appeals on Friday suspended Apple Inc. and Broadcom Inc. from paying $ 1.1 billion to the California Institute of Technology for violating its Wi-Fi technology patents, and ordered a new trial for damages.

The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the January 2020 federal jury in Los Angeles, one of the largest ever in patent cases, was “legally unacceptable.”

Apple and Broadcom also upheld the jury’s findings that they infringed two of Caltech’s patents, and ordered a new trial to consider whether they infringed a third patent.

Caltech sued Apple and Broadcom in May 2016, alleging that millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Clocks, and other devices that used Broadcom chips had infringed data transmission patents.

The jury ordered Apple to pay Caltech $ 837.8 million and Broadcom $ 270.2 million more.

Caltech spokeswoman Shayna Chabner said the school in Pasadena, California is confident that the value of its patents will be “fully recognized” in a new compensation lawsuit.

Neither Apple nor Broadcom responded to immediate requests for comment.

Apple is the main buyer of the Broadcom chip, and reached an agreement to supply $ 15 billion, which expires in January 2023, in January 2020. Broadcom estimates that 20 percent of its revenue comes from Apple.

Caltech’s model of damage was based on the fact that the school could simultaneously negotiate a license with Apple for devices with Broadcom chips and a license with Broadcom for chips used elsewhere.

Writing to the appellate court, circuit judge Richard Linn dismissed that theory.

“The fact that Broadcom and Apple are separate violators does not allow different chips to be treated differently at different stages of the supply chain,” Linn wrote. “Caltech’s two-tier damage theory cannot be legally supported in this record.”

Caltech has also sued Microsoft Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Dell Technologies Inc. and HP Inc. for alleged infringement of the same patents. These cases are pending.