Apple Wins Taction Patent Lawsuit Over Apple Watch and Device Haptics

Apple’s Taptic Engine, the technology behind haptic feedback on its devices, first debuted with the Apple Watch in 2014. Since then, Apple has improved the system and expanded haptic features across its product lineup.

Taction Accused Apple of Patent Infringement

In 2021, headphone and gaming-headset maker Taction claimed that Apple’s improvements to its haptic technology infringed a patent issued in 2020.

According to the complaint, Apple believed that producing more effective haptic vibrations could improve the overall user experience.

Taction alleged that Apple was taking advantage of its innovation and success by selling devices that infringed its patent. The company also accused Apple of using its inventions “without license or authority.”

Jury Finds Apple Did Not Knowingly Infringe

A San Diego judge ruled in 2023 that Apple had not infringed Taction’s patents. The dispute was later taken up on appeal by the Federal Circuit and proceeded to a September jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

In Friday’s verdict, the jury did not find that Apple knowingly infringed the patents at issue.

The case is one of several patent disputes that major technology companies have faced in recent years.

Apple Faces Other Recent Patent Disputes

In November 2025, a judge ordered Apple to pay $634 million to medical technology company Masimo after a jury found that Apple had infringed a patent involving blood oxygen measurement technology.