Apple has filed multiple motions in court challenging the validity of a ruling by VirnetX, a patent software licensing company. The company is now facing a potential fine of $439.7 million. Apple is currently appealing the decision and seeking a reevaluation of the judgment. The legal battle could potentially invalidate VirnetX's patents, which might lead to overturning the original verdict.
On Monday, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas rejected Apple’s motion for a retrial. The rejected motions included requests to modify previous judgments related to infringement and damages. Apple continues to explore options for filing a new appeal on these matters.
As a result of the earlier ruling, a jury awarded VirnetX $302.4 million, along with an additional $41.3 million for intentional infringement and $96 million in attorney fees. However, Apple has publicly stated its intention to appeal the verdict.
In addition, all of VirnetX’s patents have been declared invalid, but the company is currently appealing this decision. Technically, the patents remain valid until all appeals are exhausted. If none of the appeals succeed, those patents will no longer be enforceable, meaning they can’t be used to collect royalties from companies like Apple.
If the court confirms the invalidation of the patents, Apple would not be required to pay anything.
VirnetX, a communications software provider, has been involved in lawsuits against Apple, Cisco, Avaya, and Siemens since 2010. With a large number of technical patents in the industry, VirnetX has built a reputation as a “patent troll.â€
After years of litigation with Apple, VirnetX launched its own communication platform in 2014. Since the April 2014 update and the December 2014 preview release, the Gabriel collaboration suite developed by the company has seen very limited updates.
The first trial found that Apple’s “VPN on Demand†feature in iOS 3 and iOS 6 infringed two of VirnetX’s patents. During the second review, Apple was also found to have intentionally violated VirnetX’s patents related to FaceTime, iMessage, and VPN services.
In September 2015, the initial rulings were overturned by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which ordered a retrial. A week later, the retrial jury ruled unanimously that Apple had infringed on VirnetX’s intellectual property through FaceTime, iMessage, and VPN services, resulting in a $625 million compensation award.
Apple immediately appealed the decision, and the case was reviewed again in July 2016. In September 2016, a federal jury found that FaceTime had infringed on one of VirnetX’s patents and ordered Apple to pay $302 million. This marked VirnetX’s second major victory in telecommunications patent cases. The company previously won two lawsuits against Skype in 2010 and 2014, extracting $223 million from Microsoft.
FRP Pultruded Profiles
FRP Pultruded Profiles,frp profiles,grp pultruded profiles,frp pultruded sections,pultruded profile
Hebei Dingshengda Composite Material Co., Ltd. , https://www.frpdsd.com