The US Supreme Court has recently declined to hear a request by Apple and Broadcom to revive their challenges against Caltech’s data-transmission patents.
The decision comes after a lower court ruling upheld a trial judge’s decision that prevented the companies from contesting the validity of the patents during their defense against the California Institute of Technology’s lawsuit.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, specializing in patent cases, sided against Apple and Broadcom, citing their failure to raise these challenges during earlier proceedings at the US Patent and Trademark Office.
In the patent infringement case brought by Caltech against Apple and Broadcom, a jury found the companies guilty of infringing Caltech’s patents.
Apple was ordered to pay $837.8 million, while Broadcom was ordered to pay $270.2 million. However, the Federal Circuit expressed concerns about the amount of the award and sent the case back for a new trial on damages.
Caltech filed the lawsuit in 2016, alleging that Apple devices using Broadcom Wi-Fi chips, including iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches, infringed its data-transmission patents. Apple is a significant buyer of Broadcom chips, and the two companies have a supply agreement valued at $15 billion.
The Federal Circuit upheld the trial judge’s decision to prevent Apple and Broadcom from arguing that the patents were invalid because they could have made those arguments during the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) review.
Apple and Broadcom argued that the law only blocks arguments that could have been raised during the review itself, but the Federal Circuit disagreed.
The Biden administration recommended the Supreme Court to reject the case, supporting the Federal Circuit’s interpretation of the law.
Caltech has also filed patent infringement lawsuits against Microsoft, Samsung, Dell, and HP, accusing them of infringing the same patents. These cases are still pending.
