A jury in Eastern District of Texas recently ordered Apple to pay $502.6 million in damages for patent infringement. The claims were brought by VirnetX based on four patents related to powering iMessage, FaceTime, and other secure communications products. The decision ends an eight year long legal battle between Apple and VirnetX. The battle started back in 2010 when VirnetX filed a separate suit and ultimately was awarded roughly $440 million in damages. Originally founded by former engineers to develop security technology for the United States government, VirnetX has become a patent troll that primarily makes money from similar infringement lawsuits against other companies. The Nevada-based company owns a portfolio of 185 patents, 80 of which relate to secure messaging. Indeed, the company has consistently lost at least $10 million in revenue per year since 2013, suggesting its future success depends on the outcome of its lawsuits against Apple. It seems likely Apple will appeal this latest decision, especially in light of a recent ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board finding VirnetX’s patents invalid. #omnilegalgroup #patents #Apple #VirnetX
