The long legal battle between Apple and the California Institute of Technology is finally coming to an end, 9to5Mac reports. Apple and Broadcom reached a settlement with Caltech in the patent lawsuit that began in 2016.
Patent Infringement Lawsuit Between Caltech and Apple Ends Now
The trial began in 2016 and was a patent infringement case led by Caltech. The institute accused Apple of infringing patent technology with Wi-Fi chips manufactured by Broadcom and used by Apple.
According to the lawsuit, all Apple products infringed the patent, including the now-discontinued iPhone, iPad, Mac, iMac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePod and even the AirPort routers. The patents focused on Wi-Fi performance and the balance between speed, heat, power and chip size.
In 2020, a jury ruled that Apple and Broadcom had infringed Caltech’s patents. The two companies were to pay a total of $1.1 billion to the university, with Apple paying $837.8 million and Broadcom $270.2 million.
However, as you might expect, Apple appealed the decision. The damage was deemed legally unsustainable. In June 2023, the total amount of damages was to be assessed again in a new trial, but this trial was postponed indefinitely a month before its start.
Which brings us to the present day. Apple and Broadcom have reached an agreement to settle patent disputes. The details of the settlement, however, are unknown (both sides have not disclosed those details), but Caltech has agreed to dismiss the case “with prejudice.” This essentially means that the case cannot be refiled. And yes, it looks like we won’t know what the settlement is, at least for now (or maybe forever).
