The California Institute of Technology filed Case No. 2:16-cv-03714 in the Central District of California on May 26, 2016, asserting four patents — US7116710B1, US7421032B2, US7916781B2, and US8284833B2 — covering IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi error-correction technology. Named defendants included Broadcom Corporation, Avago Technologies Limited, Apple Inc., and Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The accused product specifically identified in the record is the BCM4350 Wi-Fi chipset, a component widely used in consumer electronics.

The case closed on November 22, 2023, after 2,736 days of litigation. The recorded Basis of Termination is 'Dismissed with Prejudice.' The docket order reflects a Stipulation of Dismissal pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41, under which Caltech's claims against Broadcom and Apple were dismissed with prejudice, Broadcom's and Apple's counterclaims against Caltech were likewise dismissed with prejudice, and all costs and attorneys' fees were to be borne by the party that incurred them. Notably, the court explicitly retained jurisdiction to enforce the terms of a settlement agreement with an effective date of September 22, 2023, indicating the dismissal was conditioned on a separate settlement, though the specific terms of that agreement are not disclosed in the available record.

A litigation span of nearly 7.5 years is notable even for complex multi-defendant patent cases; the docket record does not disclose what procedural milestones — including any trial or appeal activity — accounted for the extended duration. The Apple dismissal included a carve-out preserving Apple's right to reassert any claims, counterclaims, and defenses if the patents-in-suit are ever asserted against Apple again, whether by Caltech or another party. The specific commercial terms of the September 2023 settlement agreement are not disclosed in the available public record.