In a patent infringement case where the university's earlier $1.1 billion jury decision against the companies was overturned, Apple Inc., and Broadcom Inc. sought to reinstate their objections to Caltech data-transmission patents. However, the US Supreme Court declined to consider their case.

The justices rejected Apple and Broadcom's request for leave to appeal a lower court decision upholding a trial judge's order to bar the corporations from challenging the validity of the patents while they were defending against the California Institute of Technology's lawsuit.

The company's claims were rejected by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which specializes in patent matters, as they were not raised during previous hearings at the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Apple and Broadcom have contended that the patent challenges ought to have been admissible during the trial.

A jury determined that the companies violated Caltech's patents and awarded Apple $837.8 million and Broadcom $270.2 million in damages. The Federal Circuit objected to the size of the award and remanded the case for a further evaluation of the damages.

In 2016, Pasadena-based Caltech filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles against Cupertino-based Apple and San Jose-based Broadcom, claiming that millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, and other gadgets utilizing Broadcom Wi-Fi chips violated its data-transmission patents.

Apple continued that since it relied on Broadcom's standard Wi-Fi chips and wasn't the inventor of the patent-infringing technology, it was only an indirect downstream party.

Apple is an important buyer of Broadcom chips, and in January 2020, an arrangement for a $15 billion supply that lasts through 2023 was made. According to estimates from Broadcom, Apple accounts for 20 percent of its sales.

The Federal Circuit, according to Apple and Broadcom, erred in its interpretation of the legislation, which only prohibits arguments that might have been brought up during the review itself.

The administration of President Joe Biden pleaded with the court to dismiss the lawsuit in May and argued that the Federal Circuit had correctly construed the law.

Microsoft Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Dell Technologies Inc., and HP Inc. have all been sued by Caltech for allegedly violating the same patents in separate, ongoing lawsuits.