The result is a fine of more than double what Apple was original ordered to pay by a jury. District Judge William Conley of Madison put an additional $272 million on top of an existing $234 million court verdict. A patent held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) was unfairly used by Apple. The original case was won by WARF in October 2015, but Conley judged that the research facility should get more damages because Apple kept infringing the patent beyond the initial ruling, until the company updated computer processors in December 2016. Apple has confirmed it will appeal the new ruling, per court papers. However, the company has not passed official comment on the decision. WARF says Cupertino infringed a patent for a “predictor circuit” that was used in some iPhone models. The technology allows processors to have improved performance through predicting which inputs a user will make. The patent was originally obtained for the University of Wisconsin by three students in 1998.
Patent Wars
Apple maintains it did not infringe upon the patents. The company adds the patent should be ruled as invalid and says the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office should review the patent. That request was turned down the patent remains. WARF is locked in a separate battle with Apple over patent infringements in newer chips. That case is still underway as Apple may appeal a 2015 jury verdict.
