Apple Ordered to Pay VirnetX Another $502.8 Million for Patent Infringement - MacRumors
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Apple Ordered to Pay VirnetX Another $502.8 Million for Patent Infringement

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A jury today ruled that Apple owes VirnetX $502.8 million for patent infringement in an ongoing legal battle that has spanned 10 years. The dispute started in 2010, when VirnetX accused Apple's FaceTime feature of infringing on VirnetX patents.

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According to Bloomberg, the jury in the case was asked to determine how much Apple owes VirnetX in royalties for VPN on Demand, an iPhone feature that lets people access virtual private networks.

VirnetX wanted Apple to pay $700 million, while Apple argued that it should pay $113 million, based on a royalty rate of 19 cents per unit. The jury instead decided on the 84 cent per unit total.

There are two separate lawsuits in the VirnetX vs. Apple legal battle, pertaining to older and newer Apple devices. Earlier this year, Apple was ordered to pay VirnetX $454 million, so this second award will be in addition to that first payment. When it comes to this case, VirnetX was originally awarded $502 million, but the ruling was partially overturned in 2019 and sent back to the lower courts to determine new damages.

Top Rated Comments

K
Kierkegaarden
71 months ago
Why was the jury asked to determine a royalty amount? Was the jury made up of people that specialize in licensing, or did they just pull this number out of a hat?
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nogi Memes Avatar
Nogi Memes
71 months ago
The penalty is greater than the market cap of VirtnetX as of the closing bell on Friday (393.66M). Apple should have just bought VirtnetX.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bLackjackj Avatar
bLackjackj
71 months ago

Why is patent trolling still not a crime??

Jury? More like a bunch of moronic monkeys.

RIGGA MORRIS
Where is the trolling & who are you calling a moronic monkey, Lol...Apple had offered to pay 112m for using patented technology!

You cannot just take patented technology owned by whomever & use it for your own self gain whithout paying...🙄
Score: 36 Votes (Like | Disagree)
P
Psychicbob
71 months ago

Why was the jury asked to determine a royalty amount? Was the jury made up of people that specialize in licensing, or did they just pull this number out of a hat?
Pulled out of somewhere but it wasn’t a hat!
Score: 31 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
sniffies
71 months ago
Why is patent trolling still not a crime??

RIGGA MORRIS
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jz0309 Avatar
jz0309
71 months ago
Apple "offered" 113M$, so clearly, they know that they violated a patent ... hence, no-one really should complain that Apple has to pay, yes, maybe about the amount, but not the fact that they violated a patent.
I know this is not what people here want to hear ...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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