Caltech Settles Billion-Dollar Patent Lawsuits Against Apple and Broadcom

Caltech has reached undisclosed final settlements with tech giants Apple and Broadcom, effectively ending a billion-dollar patent lawsuits over Wi-Fi chips. The university confirmed the settlements in a filing in a California federal court, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The lawsuit, originally filed by Caltech in 2016, accused Apple and Broadcom of infringing its wireless-communication patents. The alleged infringements were found in millions of Apple devices including iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches that used Broadcom chips.

Apple was ordered to pay $837.8 million and Broadcom an additional $270.2 million. However, the award was deemed “legally unsupportable” and subsequently overturned by a federal appeals court in 2021.

A trial to redetermine award amounts was that scheduled for June was indefinitely postponed in May. In August, both parties informed the court about a “potential settlement,” without disclosing further details.

According to the recent settlements filing, Caltech will dismiss the cases with prejudice, meaning they cannot be refiled, Reuters said.

In related news, Caltech settled a similar lawsuit against Samsung in August. The university is also pursuing lawsuits against Microsoft, Dell, and HP over its Wi-Fi patents. These cases are still pending.