Due to its massive success, Apple is a frequent target of patent trolls: non-practicing enterprises which appear to make all their money by taking other companies to court.
Earlier this year, one such company called VirnetX was awarded a massive $625 million after Apple reportedly infringed on its intellectual property with both its FaceTime and iMessage tech. However, seven months later it appears that Apple may not have to pay the money after all — after the judge threw out the previous ruling and demanded a retrial.
The problem, it seems, is that VirnetX biased the jury against Apple by bringing up a previous case several years earlier in which Apple was ordered to pay the patent troll $368 million for violating its patents in technologies related to FaceTime and VPN in iOS.
While VirnetX was allowed to mention the verdict, it reportedly did so at the wrong time. One of the offending quotes is said to have involved VirnetX’s lawyer saying that, “At the [previous trial] Apple said those same remarks about not using the patent. And you know, the jury didn’t believe them and agreed with us.” According to Judge Robert Schroeder, “the repeated references to the prior jury verdict in the consolidated case resulted in an unfair trial.”
There was also consternation about two lawsuits (one regarding FaceTime and the other VPN technology) being combined into one trial, which had the “potential for juror confusion.” Two new trials will commence starting Sept. 26, 2016.
Via: Engadget
