The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), a nonprofit patent management arm of the University of Wisconsin, has seen another key setback in its litigation against Apple. In 2018, the Federal Circuit overturned a $506M judgment for the plaintiff in the first of two cases, holding that Apple had not literally infringed the asserted patent through the provision of certain mobile chips based on the plain and ordinary meaning of a key claim limitation. Now, the Federal Circuit has affirmed a 2022 ruling that the company could not revive that first suit based on a doctrine-of-equivalents (DOE) theory, concluding in an August 28 precedential decision that WARF had waived that theory by agreeing not to raise it at trial. The Federal Circuit additionally held that a second WARF suit targeting newer versions of the accused Apple processors, also under a DOE theory, was precluded by the outcome of the first case—in the process expanding the standards governing issue preclusion and the Kessler doctrine.

A Western District of Wisconsin judge has rejected an attempt by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the non-profit, patent management arm of the University of Wisconsin, to revive its litigation against Apple. After the Federal Circuit overturned a $506M judgment against the company in 2018, holding that the defendant had not directly infringed under the proper application of a key claim term, WARF had asked the district court to let it pursue claims of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. However, on May 10, District Judge William M. Conley declined to reopen the case, holding that WARF had waived that issue—having previously agreed not to assert a doctrine of equivalents theory in an attempt to resolve an evidentiary dispute.

The Federal Circuit has overturned an infringement verdict against Apple in litigation brought by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the non-profit, patent management arm of the University of Wisconsin. In that case, a Wisconsin jury found in October 2015 that Apple had infringed a single WARF semiconductor patent through its A7 and A8 processors, with the court issuing a $506M final judgment following the trial (3:14-cv-00062). However, the Federal Circuit ruled in a September 28 opinion that the infringement verdict is not properly supported by the evidence based on the plain and ordinary meaning of a key claim limitation (2017-2265, 2017-2380).

After finding that Apple’s A7 and A8 processors infringe multiple claims of a patent (5,781,752) owned by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), a Wisconsin jury has awarded the NPE $234.2 million in damages (3:14-cv-00062). The decision follows an October 15, 2015 ruling by District Judge William Conley that Apple’s infringement of the ‘752 patent was not willful. A finding of willfulness would have allowed the court to enhance damages by as much as three times the jury’s award.

On October 12, 2015, a Wisconsin jury returned a verdict that Apple’s A7 and A8 processors infringe multiple claims of a patent (5,781,752) owned by Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the non-profit, patent management arm of the University of Wisconsin. The case (3:14-cv-00062) now enters a second phase to determine damages, which an earlier court ruling on Apple’s motions in limine indicates is capped (absent enhancement) at $862 million.

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the nonprofit, patent management arm of the University of Wisconsin, filed a second suit (3:15-cv-00621) against Apple alleging infringement of a single patent (5,781,752). WARF accused Apple in a January 2014 lawsuit, also in the Western District of Wisconsin, of infringing the ‘752 patent through the sale of its products incorporating an A7, A8, or A8x processor. This second suit targets Apple products that incorporate an A9 or A9x processor, including the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, and iPad Pro. The ‘752 patent generally relates to preventing microprocessors capable of performing commands out of their sequential order from committing errors by tracking when out-of-order commands caused problems in the past. The named inventors are four University of Wisconsin researchers.