Apple Ordered to Pay University of Wisconsin $234 Million in A7/A8 Patent Lawsuit
Apple has been ordered to pay the University of Wisconsin's intellectual property management arm $234 million in damages for infringing on one of its processor patents, reports Reuters.
Earlier this week, a jury ruled Apple had infringed on a patent owned by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) when it used patented technology in its A7, A8, and A8X processors included in the 2013 and 2014 iPhone and iPad lineup.
WARF had originally asked for damages as high as $862 million, but later lowered that request to around $400 million. Apple will be paying a little more than half of the requested amount with the $234 million award WARF received from the jury. The presiding judge ruled Apple had not willfully infringed on WARF's patent, so the damages award will stay at $234 million.
The patent in question, titled "Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer," was originally granted in 1998 and covers a method for improving processor efficiency. It lists several current and former University of Wisconsin researchers as inventors.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation has also filed a second lawsuit against Apple for the same patent, accusing the company of using the technology in the A9 and A9X chips found in the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, and iPad Pro.
For the first six months of 2015, Apple averaged a daily net profit of $134.7 million, which means the judgment will account for approximately 42 hours of profit. Apple has said it will appeal the ruling.
Popular Stories
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices.
iPhone 17 Pro's alleged design via Front Page Tech
Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of March 2025:
Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone...
Apple has a staggering marketing claim for the new MacBook Air with the M4 chip.
Specifically, Apple says the new MacBook Air is up to 23x faster than the last Intel-based model. However, there are some details in the fine print to be aware of.
First, Apple said it compared a new 2025 MacBook Air with a 10-core M4 chip and 32GB of RAM to a 2020 MacBook Air with a quad-core Intel Core i7...
The upcoming iOS 18.4 update for the iPhone includes two smaller but meaningful improvements for Apple's in-car iPhone mirroring system CarPlay.
First, CarPlay now shows a third row of icons, up from two rows previously. However, this change is only visible in vehicles with a larger center display. For example, a MacRumors Forums member noticed the change in a Toyota Tundra with a 14-inch...
Apple is delaying some of the Apple Intelligence Siri features that it expected to release in iOS 18, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Daring Fireball.
Apple says that it is going to take longer than expected to roll out the more personalized Siri experience, and that these features will be rolled out "in the coming year.""Siri helps our users find what they need and get things...
It's been a busy week for Apple, with new products announced on Tuesday and Wednesday. We're now caught up on what's been rumored for a spring launch, so we thought we'd recap everything Apple came out with this week.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
iPad Air
Apple updated the iPad Air on Tuesday, updating it with the new M3 chip. The iPad Air still comes in...
Apple's all-new ultra-thin iPhone 17 Air shares the same dimensions as the iPhone 17 Pro Max, with the only difference being in the thickness of the devices, according to the leaker Ice Universe.
Posting to their Weibo account, the Chinese leaker today claimed that the iPhone 17 Air and iPhone 17 Pro Max have identical body length, width, screen size, and bezels. "The only difference is the...
The new MacBook Air has a useful upgrade: it natively supports up to two external displays, in addition to the laptop's built-in display.
In other words, the latest MacBook Air can be used with a pair of external displays without needing to keep the laptop's lid closed.
Apple's tech specs for the new 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air:Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the...
Apple's first foldable iPhone should arrive around the end of 2026 or early 2027 with a book-style design and a premium price tag of over $2,000, according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a report today, Kuo outlines his expectations for the device, noting that it will have an approximately 7.8-inch "crease-free" inner display and a 5.5-inch outer display, matching a rumor from last month.
Kuo...
Apple has increased the thickness of the upcoming iPhone 17 Pro Max compared to the current generation iPhone 16 Pro Max, claims the Chinese leaker known as Ice Universe.
Apple is said to have increased the depth of the iPhone 17 Pro Max to 8.725mm, up from 8.25mm on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which would be a 0.475mm difference in thickness. The increase "surely means a larger battery,"...
