Burford Capital to gain up to $1.4bn from Apple patent defeat

Litigation funder Burford Capital said it stands to gain up to $1.4bn after a US federal jury ruled against Apple in a major technology patent case.

Burford on Monday said it had a “financial entitlement” in what it described as “one of the largest patent verdicts in US history”, sending shares up 9 per cent in early trading in London.

A jury in a San Diego court on Friday awarded $5.7bn in damages to Taction Technology, which develops vibration technology for electronic devices, and which sued Apple in 2021 for allegedly using its “patented inventions without license or authority”.

Taction accused Apple of violating two of its patents concerning the haptic feedback in iPhones and Apple Watches in its legal complaint, alleging that the tech giant had capitalised on its “innovation and success” by selling the devices.

The company argued that Apple’s “Taptic Engine,” which is embedded in many of its products, unlawfully used its inventions. Apple denied the claim as “invalid” in its own legal filings, arguing that Taction had introduced insufficient evidence and rejecting accusations of wilful or indirect infringement.

Taction and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the jury’s decision.

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The win on Friday follows a big loss for Burford in March, when a US appeals court overturned a ruling that found Argentina liable to pay $16bn to former shareholders of the oil major YPF.

The litigation funder had backed the shareholders’ claims and would have taken a share of the award. Its shares fell as much as 54 per cent in New York in the wake of the ruling — at the time its biggest intraday decline since July 2020.

Burford on Monday cautioned that the Apple verdict did not “represent a final judgment or cash proceeds received by” the litigation funder. It said post-trial proceedings, including efforts by Apple to overturn the jury’s verdict, could leave Burford recovering “substantially less” than $1.4bn or, “in certain circumstances, [incurring] a total loss”.

“As with all litigation, the outcome remains uncertain until final resolution, and there can be no assurance as to the timing or amount of any ultimate recovery,” Burford added.