Apple vs. VirnetX

When talking about patent infringements, one might usually think of unsuspecting individuals caught in the nets of a patent troll or rather a white-collar criminal with little or no respect for the rule of law, little would you know, “law-abiding” companies such as Apple have been discovered to have (unintentionally) violated patent laws. In 2016 a federal jury found that Apple had infringed VirnetX’s patents while developing their FaceTime feature and awarded $302 million (with a federal judge later increasing it to $439.7 million) with an appeal recently being rejected.

Often classified as an intellectual property licensing firm and regularly accused of being a patent troll, VirnetX is a Nevada-based publically traded internet security software and technology company with patented technology for secure communications including 4G LTE security features. It should be noted that VirnetX has been in several legal litigations with companies including Apple, Cisco, and Microsoft.

The case against Apple dates back to 2010 when VirnetX accused them of infringing four patents via its FaceTime and VPN on Demand features in products ranging from their iPhone to the iPad. During the litigation, on the request of Apple and several other corporations, a tribunal led by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) reviewed the validity of the VirnetX patents and cancelled out key parts of the patent, however this wasn’t enough to protect Apple, with the legal system ruling in favour of VirnetX and an appeal contending this ruling being rejected with another unanimous jury verdict in favour of VirnetX.