A federal jury in San Diego has ordered Apple to pay more than $5.7bn to Taction Technology, a small haptics company, for infringing two of its patents.

The verdict came on Friday, 25 September, and is the largest patent award in US history, according to Law360, which first reported it.

The case centres on Apple’s Taptic Engine, the part that makes iPhones and Apple Watches tap and vibrate for alerts and button presses.

The jury found that it infringed claims in both patents, which cover ways of producing vibrations a user can feel, according to the verdict form.

However, the jury also found that Apple did not infringe on purpose. As a result, Taction cannot ask the court to increase the damages.

Apple rejected the verdict and said it would appeal.

“Apple’s Taptic Engine is fundamentally different from Taction’s technology, which Taction’s own testing of Apple’s products confirmed during trial,” the company said in a statement.

Taction, which is based in San Diego, makes haptic technology for headphones and gaming headsets. It sued Apple in 2021.

A judge ruled in Apple’s favour in 2023, but the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revived the case last year, and the trial began on 14 September.

“Taction waited five and a half years for this case to get to trial, so it was a long time coming,” Lance Yang, Taction’s lead lawyer, told CNBC.

The lawsuit was also financed from outside. Investment vehicles linked to the litigation funder Burford Capital backed Taction’s case, Bloomberg Law reported. Such funders pay the costs of a lawsuit in return for a share of any damages.

The award is more than double the previous high. In 2021, a Texas jury ordered Intel to pay $2.18bn to patent holder VLSI Technology, a verdict that was later thrown out on appeal.

The $5.7bn figure is not final, and Apple can challenge it in post-trial motions before the trial judge, and then at the Federal Circuit.