Apple Ordered to Pay Patent Troll $440m, But the Battle Isn’t Over

Source: www.idropnews.com --- Tuesday, October 17, 2017
A federal judge has ordered Apple to pay nearly $440 million to patent-holding company VirnetX, an unsealed order recently revealed. But despite the court decision, the patent troll still can’t claim victory just yet. The long-running patent battle began in 2012 when VirnetX alleged that Apple was infringing on four of its patents with FaceTime and other VoIP protocols. But in September, a U.S. District Court in Texas denied Apple’s motions to end the case or have a retrial. Not only that, but the judge tacked on an additional $41.3 million in damages and $96 million in costs, fees and interest for the $302 million jury verdict that VirnetX won last year . The judge presiding over the case found Apple guilty of “will infringement,” The Verge reported . As such, it has been ordered to bump the payment amount from $1.20 per infringing device to $1.80. And “infringing device” spans the range of iPhones, iPads and Macs. That amount is “very reasonable,” VirnetX CEO Kendall Larsen said in a press release . Though this is the third trial that VirnetX has won against Apple in this particular suit, the tireless battle isn’t over. Apple told TechCrunch that it plans to appeal the court’s verdict. Additionally, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has recently invalidated all four of VirnetX’s patents — though this won’t halt outright stop the legal warfare between the two companies. To be clear, $440 million is a relative drop in the buc ...

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