Caltech scores massive $1.1B verdict against Apple and Broadcom in patent case

After a years-long legal battle, a judge ordered Apple and Broadcom to pay a combined $1.1 billion in a patent infringement case with the California Institute of Technology, Bloomberg reports. The report states that Apple was ordered to pay $837.8 million and Broadcom is looking at a $270.2 million verdict.

Apple has been ensnared in legal proceedings over the past several years regarding the technologies in the company's wireless chipsets. Last year, the company settled a long-standing dispute with Qualcomm regarding the royalty payments.

Caltech's suit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles in 2016, and alleged that hundreds of millions of Apple's devices with Broadcom Wi-Fi chips infringed on their patents. Broadcom supplies wireless chips for a variety of Apple products, including the iPhone.

“We are pleased the jury found that Apple and Broadcom infringed Caltech patents,” Caltech said in a statement. “As a non-profit institution of higher education, Caltech is committed to protecting its intellectual property in furtherance of its mission to expand human knowledge and benefit society through research integrated with education.”

Bloomberg reported that this was the 6th largest patent-related verdict ever. Naturally, both Apple and Broadcom have voiced that they plan to appeal the ruling.