Apple Needs to Pay VirnetX $502.8 Million in Royalties Says Jury

The latest jury verdict in their decade-long legal showdown holds Apple liable to paying 502.8 million USD to VirnetX in royalties for the latter’s patented Intellectual Property (IP) in secure communications, reports Bloomberg.

VirnetX filed lawsuit after lawsuit against Apple, claiming the tech pioneer infringed upon patents for technologies it originally developed for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, and incorporated them into Apple products — namely VPN On Demand, and FaceTime.

After an appeals court cemented an infringement finding pertaining to VPN On Demand, VirnetX filed for damages for technologies used by Apple in VPN on Demand only in VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc. 12-855, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall).

VirnetX argued it was owed 700 million USD, whereas Apple argued it owed around 113 million USD at 19 cents per unit. After deliberating for roughly 90 minutes, the jury in Tyler, Texas, came back with a figure of 84 cents per unit, amounting to a total of $502.8 million USD.

This is not the first time a jury has awarded VirnetX damages in this drawn-out legal war, and while Apple has paid up in the past, it will be doing everything in its power to overturn the decision this time around.

“We thank the jury for their time and appreciate their consideration but are disappointed with the verdict and plan to appeal,” said an Apple spokesperson.

Apple is in a good position to challenge the verdict, thanks to its successful invalidation of many VirnetX patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and allegations of nepotism and corporate governance failures being made against VirnetX in Delaware Chancery Court.

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