Apple may have to pay a substantial settlement to the University of Wisconsin after a US federal jury found the company guilty of infringing a University patent – US Patent 5781752 – that helps to improve processor efficiency.
The suit was filed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), which commercialises research at the University. It alleged that Apple used its technology in its A7, A8 and A8X processors, which feature in some iPhones and iPads.
It’s not the first time that WARF has taken on the electronics industry; the commercialisation body sued Intel in 2008, alleging infringement of the same patent. However, the case was settled out of court before the trial began.
In the latest case, US District Judge William Conley is assessing three aspects: liability; damages; and whether Apple infringed the patent ‘willfully’. In its suit, WARF has asked for more than $860million in damages.
WARF has also filed another suit which cites illegal use of the patent by Apple in the A9 and A9X processors found in the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as the iPad Pro.
The abstract of the University of Wisconsin patent – filed in December 1996 and published in July 1998 – states: ‘A predictor circuit permits advanced execution of instructions depending for their data on previous instructions by predicting such dependencies based on previous mis-speculations detected at the final stages of processing. Synchronization of dependent instructions is provided by a table creating entries for each instance of potential dependency. Table entries are created and deleted dynamically to limit total memory requirements’.
Apple has referenced US Patent 5781752 in several of its patents.
Author
Graham Pitcher
Source: www.newelectronics.co.uk