Dhaka, Sept. 28 -- Apple has been ordered to pay $5.7 billion in damages after a US jury found the tech giant had used a smaller firm's patented vibration technology without authorisation.

Audio company Taction Technology filed the lawsuit in 2021, arguing that improvements Apple made to its Taptic Engine -- the haptics system built into the iPhone and Apple Watch -- infringed two of its patents issued in 2020, BBC reports.

Haptics technology enables the touch-based feedback users feel when receiving a message or pressing a virtual button.

The case had a winding path through the courts. A San Diego judge initially ruled in Apple's favour in 2023, finding no infringement.

But a federal appeals court took up the matter, leading to a fre...