Apple, Broadcom ordered to pay $1.1bn for patent infringement

A Los Angeles jury on Wednesday ordered Apple and Broadcom to pay $1.1 billion to a university in California for infringing on four Wi-Fi technology patents.

Apple was ordered to pay $837 million and Broadcom must pay $270 million to the California Institute of Technology, in what is thought to be one of the largest patent verdicts ever.

Caltech, as the university located near Los Angeles is known, had sued both tech giants in 2016, alleging that Apple products including iPhones, iPads and Apple Watches used Broadcom components that infringed on Caltech patents related to wireless data transmissions.

Both Apple and Broadcom indicated they planned to appeal the verdict.

"Caltech appreciates the jury's thoughtful attention throughout the trial," the university said in a statement to AFP. "We are pleased the jury found that Apple and Broadcom infringed Caltech patents.

"As a nonprofit 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."

In court documents, Apple and Broadcom had said that Caltech's claims "are based solely on the incorporation of allegedly infringing Broadcom chips in Apple's iPhone, Mac, and other devices."

"Broadcom manufactures the accused chips, while Apple is merely an indirect downstream party whose products incorporate the accused chips," according to court filings. "Accordingly, the claims that Caltech has against Apple depend on establishing that the accused Broadcom chips infringe the patents and that the patents-in-suit are not invalid."

Broadcom was the main target of the lawsuit but Apple was also named as it is one of Broadcom's biggest customers.