Foundation Awarded $234M From Apple in Patent Infringement Case

A federal jury in Madison, Wis., awarded The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s intellectual property arm more than $234 million Friday in its patent infringement lawsuit against computer- and gadget-maker Apple.

The verdict on the award amount, reached after the jury deliberated for about three hours, was about $165 million less than the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) had sought, but WARF’s legal team was all smiles and handshakes after the verdict was read.

“We’re very pleased with the verdict,” said attorney Morgan Chu, who made the closing argument for WARF on Friday. “The court here and the judge and staff were magnificent.”

The case centers on technology that became a component of processors that run widely popular Apple devices such as the iPhone and iPad.