Apple fends off appeal of win in $506 mln University of Wisconsin patent case

Aug 28 (Reuters) - The University of Wisconsin's bid for a new trial was rebuffed by a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday in a long-running dispute between the school and Apple (AAPL.O) over computer processor technology that previously led to a $506 million victory for the university.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a Wisconsin federal court's 2022 ruling that the school was not entitled to a new trial following the appeals court's 2018 decision to wipe out a jury's verdict in its favor.

The Federal Circuit rejected the university's argument that it should have been allowed to raise a new infringement theory after the appeals court's 2018 ruling, finding that the school should have presented the theory during the original trial.

A spokesperson for the university's patent licensing arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), said that it was disappointed with the decision and reviewing its legal options.

Attorneys and spokespeople for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the ruling.

WARF sued Apple in 2014, arguing that chips used in iPhones and iPads violated its patent rights in technology for improving processor performance.

A Wisconsin jury awarded WARF $234 million in damages in 2015, and U.S. District Judge William Conley increased the award to more than $506 million in 2017.

The Federal Circuit overturned the jury's patent infringement decision in 2018. WARF asked for a new trial in Wisconsin the next year.

Conley rejected WARF's request in 2022. A unanimous three-judge Federal Circuit panel agreed with Conley on Wednesday.

The case is Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation v. Apple Inc, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 22-1884.