Apple lost a patent-infringement lawsuit on Tuesday, and could eventually owe $862 million in damages to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
According to TechCrunch, a jury found specifically that Apple’s A7, A8, and A8X chips, used in the iPhone 5S, 6, 6S — and some iPads — contain processor efficiency technology protected by a 1998 patent filed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).
"The patent in question, U.S. Patent No. 5,781,752 for a 'Table based data speculation circuit for parallel processing computer' is meant to make computer chips more power-efficient by using a branch predictor," explained the tech blog.
The case was brought in January 2014, and U.S. District Judge William Conley has organized the trail in three phases: liability, damages, and willful infringement.
Conley said Apple is potentially on the hook for $862.4 million in damages, and that the final phase of the trial could lead to enhanced penalties.
WARF has in the last month filed a second lawsuit against Apple over the same patent infringement, citing the company's newest chips, the A9 and A9X.
Reuters reported that WARF moved to sue Intel in 2008, but eventually settled a year later just before the trial began.
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