Apple risks facing an even larger debt after being ordered to pay US$ 5.7 billion (approximately R$ 30.8 billion) in a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States. Taction Technology, which filed the suit, asked a federal judge to increase the compensation amount and add interest to the sum determined by a jury in September.
This request has the potential to raise the financial obligation of the iPhone manufacturer by hundreds of millions of dollars. The litigation relates to haptic feedback technology used in iPhones and Apple Watches, which allows the devices to generate vibrations detectable by touch.
In a document filed on Friday (16), Taction argued that the initial ruling only covers Apple sales made between 2021 and the end of March of the current year. For this reason, the company requested that the court also review sales made in the subsequent six months.
Additionally, the company requested the payment of retroactive interest on the judicial decision, calculated based on the California state legal rate of 7% (USA). According to Taction, this addition could add at least hundreds of millions of dollars to the original judgment amount. The company argued in the document that the volume of compensation set by the jury should not be an impediment to granting interest, also seeking post-judgment interest.