A U.S. judge has ruled on Monday that Apple Inc. has to pay $506 million to the University of Wisconsin-Madison for infringing on a patent owned by the university’s patent licensing arm. The decision also doubled the damages initially imposed on Apple by a jury.
U.S. District Judge William Conley in Madison added $272 million to a $234 million jury verdict the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)won against Apple almost two years ago in October 2015. Conley further ruled that Apple owes WARF additional damages plus interest because the company continued to infringe the patent, which is connected to computer processor technology until its expiration on December 2016.
Court papers reveal that Apple is appealing Conley’s ruling.
WARF filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2014 alleging that processors found in some versions of the popular iPhone infringe on a patent describing a “predictor circuit”, which improves processor performance with its ability to predict instructions a user will give the system. University of Wisconsin computer science professor Gurindar Sohi and his three former students obtained the patent in 1998.
Cupertino, California-based Apple denied any infringement during a jury trial in 2015 and contested that the patent is invalid. Apple then also asked the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to review the patent’s validity but the agency rejected Apple’s bid
WARF also lodged a separate lawsuit against Apple in 2015, alleging chips in later versions of the iPhone infringe the same patent. Conley said he would not decide on that case until Apple has the chance to appeal the 2015 verdict.
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