A patent trial involving Apple’s FaceTime and the company VirnetX has come to a ruling where Apple has to pay $502.8 million in royalties.
VirnetX has stated that iOS feature VPN on Demand use their technology. In a recent statement Apple says they intend to appeal the Texas jury’s decision due to the fact that the patents were unrelated to their product’s core operations and were found invalid according to the patent office. Furthermore, Apple says cases like this serve to ‘harm consumers and stifle innovation’.
Earlier in 2020 Apple’s request for a split decision was rejected when Apple was found infringing on VirnetX patents. Since 2018 the two companies have been locked in battle when a Texas federal court ordered the Cupertino-based company to pay $502.6 million for 4 patent violations.
A year later a judge panel said the fine was voided but overlooked older iPhone models infringing 2 VirnetX patents.