U.S. District Court Judge William Conley ordered technology giant Apple, Inc. last week to pay $506 million to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) for patent infringement. This court order adds an additional $272 million to the $234 million Apple already owes WARF from a separate verdict from 2015.
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the independent nonprofit technology transfer organization serving the Univeristy of Wisconsin-Madison, first argued in October of 2015 that Apple, the biggest company in the world, had infringed on Patent No. US 5,781,752, which claims an invention that significantly improves the efficiency of computer processing. The invention allows for out-of-order execution of instructions with a data speculation circuit. The verdict in the initial case was unanimous in WARF's favor, finding that Apple infringed on the patent with the A7, A8, and A8X processors it used in its iPhones.
Though the patent expired in late 2016, Western District of Wisconsin Judge Conley recently ruled on post-trial motions in favor of WARF, with Apple owing WARF for all infringement and damage done prior to December 2016.
"WARF will continue to defend the work of university researchers and WARF's patent in this case, should Apple, Inc. file an appeal," said Jeanan Yasiri Moe, Director of Strategic Communications at WARF, regarding the trial.
WARF, which works constantly to advance world-changing discoveries coming out of UW-Madison research efforts, is a close affiliate of WiSys Technology Foundation.
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