Apple must pay VirnetX $440 million after an appeals court upheld an earlier judgement in favor of the patent holding company, reports Reuters.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today denied Apple's appeal of a 2016 verdict that awarded VirnetX $302 million, which increased to $439.7 million when taking into account damages and interest calculated during retrials.

iPhone 4 FaceTime
VirnetX first sued Apple in 2010, accusing FaceTime of infringing on patents held by VirnetX. The two companies have been fighting in court since then, and Apple in 2017 said it would appeal the final $440 million judgement.

In a separate case that is also still unsettled, VirnetX was awarded an additional $502.6 million from Apple after a court found that Apple's FaceTime, iMessage, and VPN on Demand features infringe on four VirnetX patents related to communications security.

Apple in total owes VirnetX $942 million, but is likely to continue to fight both rulings, as the patents in question have been ruled invalid by a separate court. Apple said it is disappointed with the ruling and will once again appeal.

Top Rated Comments

archvile Avatar
68 months ago
Man, I can’t wait to buy the new VirnetX phone that takes advantage of these amazing technologies that they have patented clearly for use in their products.

Oh wait...
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
polaris20 Avatar
68 months ago
Too bad Apple can't just buy the company and fire everyone. Their market cap is less than the verdict.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
68 months ago
Gotta love a system where patent trolls can exist and win absurd amount of money by simply purchasing patents.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Agent OrangeZ Avatar
68 months ago
Patent trolls....
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DrJohnnyN Avatar
68 months ago
Apple can do no wrong.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
oneMadRssn Avatar
68 months ago
Gotta love a system where patent trolls can exist and win absurd amount of money by simply purchasing patents.
Are we to just ignore the innovators who came up with those inventions and patented them? If enforcement companies can't win big money, then patents become worthless.
[doublepost=1547578647][/doublepost]
Hey if they violated a patent and the actual originator of the patent sued and won I’d have no problem. That’s not what happened here. This company’s ENTIRE business model is patent suits, they have never produced a single thing they sue companies for. They just buy patents and sue, that’s a parasite.
Private investor firms want to take a chance on startups, but they want some collateral in case it doesn't work out so they don't lose 100% of their money. Startups have no collateral, except IP. But IP is only worth something if it can be sold to an non-practicing entity if the startup fails.

If the startup fails, their IP is sold at bankruptcy to whoever wants to buy it. That money is used to pay back the investors so they can keep investing. Usually patent assertion entities buy the patents, and try to monetize them. If PAEs can't monetize patents, which you apparently have a problem with, then they won't buy the patents of bankrupt companies, which means those patents will be worth nothing, which means startups have no collateral, which means investors aren't as willing to take a chance.

It's all connected. The patent system props up a lot more than people realize.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...