The case was instituted in 2014, by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) who manage patents for the University of Wisconsin Madison, against Apple Inc. claiming that the iPhone 5S, iPad mini with Retina Display, and iPad Air all benefit from an information processing system called the A7 processor, developed at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and patented in 1998. WARF demanded damages and an injunction to stop the sale of any product using the A7 processor until licensing payment was agreed upon. The A7 processor powers older iPhones and iPads. The technology improves battery life and the efficiency of processors by having them execute commands efficiently.

In 2015, the jury found Apple guilty of patent infringement and ordered to pay WARF $234 million as damages. Further, WARF filed a separate lawsuit against Apple over chips it uses in the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPad Pro models.

In 2017, the US District Judge denied Apple's appeal to reverse the findings of 2015 and instead doubled the damages payable to WARF bringing it to the tune of $506 million. This increase in damages was awarded to WARF since Apple did not discontinue its products and instead continued use of the patent until it expired in 2016.

Apple Inc. then filed an appeal at the US Court of Appeals, where the judge ruled in favour of Apple and stated that, the evidence presented before the court of law at the time of trial was insufficient to prove infringement of WARF's patent.

Thus, the lack of evidence which was something that could have been easily produced as the patent existed and so did the product, the University lost more than $500 million. It is once again clear that proper production of evidence is the most important strategy in winning an IP litigation.


Compiled by: Adv. Sachi Kapoor | Concept & Edited by: Dr. Mohan Dewan


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