Apple’s Win in Haptics Patent Case Undone by Federal Circuit (1)

The Federal Circuit wiped out a California federal court’s ruling ending a patent owner’s suit accusing Apple Inc. of infringing a pair of haptics patents through vibration features on some of its phones and watches.

A three-judge panel faulted a San Diego judge’s August 2023 finding that certain iPhones and Apple Watches didn’t infringe patents owned by Taction Technology Inc. and granting Apple’s motion for summary judgment. The appeals court said the judge abused its powers when it struck opinions from Taction expert witness James Oliver based on an unwritten requirement in the court’s local patent rules that patent owners ...