VirnetX

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Apple ordered to pay more than $500 million in long-running patent battle

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iPhone with gavel.
Will this be the end of the road? Who knows!
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

Apple’s long-running battle with patent-holding entity VirnetX took another expensive turn Friday as Apple was ordered to pay $502.8 million for infringing on the company’s patents.

The verdict was decided by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Apple and VirnetX have been battling back and forth since 2010.

Apple pays up in patent case involving FaceTime technology

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Facetime
Jony Ive and Steve Jobs talk during the first public FaceTime demo, which took place at WWDC 2010 in San Francisco.
Photo: Mathieu Thouvenin/Flickr CC

Out of appeals, Apple cut a check to VirnetX for more than $454 million to end a lengthy patent infringement case.

VirnetX, which sued Apple over patents relating to FaceTime, iMessage and VPN technologies, announced the payment in a one-paragraph press release Friday.

U.S. Supreme Court rejects Apple appeal in patent suit with VirnetX

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App Store monopoly lawsuit might make Supreme Court. This is the latest chapter in a long-running case involving Apple.
Apple VirnetX patent infringement appeal is rejected by Supreme Court.
Photo: Supermac1961/Flickr CC

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear Apple’s appeal of a $440 million judgment in one of many patent infringement suits brought by internet security firm VirnetX more than ten years ago.

The justices rejected Apple’s appeal in the long-running case in which a federal jury in 2016 found that Apple had infringed VirnetX’s patents and awarded $302 million. A judge later increased that amount to $439.7 million including interest and other costs.

Court denies Apple’s appeal in VirnetX patent-infringement case

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Apple wants patent trolls to stop ‘gaming the system’
The lesser-spotted patent troll.
Photo: Andrew Becraft/Flickr CC

Cupertino’s seemingly neverending legal battle with patent troll VirnetX Holding Corp. took another turn this week when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Apple’s request to reconsider an original patent-infringement decision.

VirnetX and Apple have been fighting in courts for a decade over patents related to FaceTime and other secure communications. VirnetX, which doesn’t produce any products, previously won more than $503 million in damages, but courts subsequently threw out the award.

Apple wants another shot at overturning $439 million patent lawsuit

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Anti-robocall bill is one step closer to being passed into law
Apple is frequently targeted in patent cases.
Photo: Pexels

Apple wants another shot at beating so called patent troll VirnetX in court.

The Cupertino company was previously ordered to pay $439 million for infringing on two of VirnetX’s patents with its FaceTime technology. However, an appeals court has since found many of VirnetX’s patents to be unpatentable.

Court rules against Apple in $440 million patent battle

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European Commission could get even tougher on tech in 2020
Apple may have to pay up big bucks.
Image: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

A U.S. appeals court has upheld a $440 million judgment against Apple by “patent troll” VirnetX, an intellectual property licensing firm which has been battling Apple for years.

VirnetX won a $302 million verdict against Apple in 2016. That figure has now grown to $440 million thanks to interest, enhanced damages, and additional costs.

Legal battle may be to blame for Apple breaking its FaceTime promise

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FaceTime
Apple's open wish for FaceTime never happened.
Screenshot: Apple

At WWDC, Apple revealed that it will finally make it possible to do FaceTime group calls for up to 32 people. That’s great news — provided that all your friends, family and co-workers use Apple devices.

But it didn’t have to be like this. Back in 2010, when Steve Jobs introduced FaceTime, he made a big point about how it was set to become an open industry standard that could be used by Apple’s competitors, as well as Apple. Nearly a decade on, that still hasn’t happened. And now a theory has emerged as to why.

Apple must shell out $502.6 million to feed ‘patent troll’

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Apple could be a $2 trillion company by end of 2021
Apple has to pay out half a billion buckaroos in damages.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple must pay $502.6 million to patent holding company (read: so-called “patent troll”) VirnetX Holding Corp., a federal jury in Texas has ordered.

This is the latest installment in a dispute that now stretches back eight years. The patents Apple has allegedly infringed one include ones related to secure communications, used by FaceTime, VPN on Demand and iMessage.

Apple plans to appeal $439.7 million loss to patent troll

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FaceTime
VirnetX strikes again!
Photo: Apple

Apple has been ordered to pay a patent troll $439.7 million after losing the final ruling in the case being heard by the US District Court.

The legal battle between Apple and VirnetX is far from over though the company says. Even though it lost the ruling related to patented technology used in FaceTime, Apple says it plans to appeal the court’s ruling.

Patent troll won’t get a penny out of Apple … yet

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Apple wants patent trolls to stop ‘gaming the system’
Apple's money is safe. Until September, at least.
Photo: Andrew Becraft/Flickr CC

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.

Patent troll wants iMessage and FaceTime banned

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Apple's iMessage platform is in legal trouble.
Apple's iMessage platform is in legal trouble.
Photo: Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s most hated patent troll, VirnetX, has hit the iPhone-maker with more legal woes this week, after it requested a court in Texas to have iMessage and FaceTime banned in the U.S.

VirnetX was awarded $625 million in damages after a jury found Apple had infringed on the company’s patents with iMessage and FaceTime. Now the patent troll is asking for an extra $190 million on top of the injunction because it feels Apple’s just been too unreasonable.

Apple could pay $532 million for infringing on iMessage patents

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Apple may have an unexpected payout on its hands.
Photo: Breaking Bad

Apple could owe up to $532 million for infringing on secure communication patents, used for both its FaceTime and its iMessage services — or at least it will if patent-holding entity VirnetX Holding Corporation has its way.

A lawyer for the firm told a court in (where else?) the Eastern District of Texas that, “Apple hasn’t played fair. They have taken Virnetx’s intellectual property without permission.”

When $368.2 Million Isn’t Enough – VirnetX Files Yet Another, Similar Patent Suit Against Apple

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gavel11

A couple of days ago, Cult of Mac reported that Apple had been successfully sued by an internet security software company, resulting in a $368.2 million damages award due the patent holders. Apparently, that award sum just wasn’t enough, as VirnetX has filed another complaint, claiming that Apple willfully infringed four patents.

As if another suit isn’t enough of a craziness, these are the same exact patents that were involved in the first suit. This time, the suing company says, they complaint includes the iPhone 5, the iPad mini, and the latest iPod touch, products that were not yet released when the initial complaint was filed.