Apple wins key victory in case against VirnetX

For the past 13 years, the Apple has been fighting in court in the United States with a company called VirnetXwhich sued the Cupertino giant more than a decade ago over a series of patent infringements related to FaceTime, iMessage and the VPN capabilities of its devices.

Described as a patent troll, that is, a company that develops or buys patents just to try to make money on top of other brands, VirnetX, unlike other names in the area, achieved some success in its endeavor. Since the beginning of the case, in 2010, she has managed to extract from Maçã no less than US$454 million — amount that was paid in 2020.

The company’s attack against Apple, however, did not stop there. In the same year, a jury in the US state of Texas determined that VirnetX should receive more US$503 million — totaling impressive $1.1 billion to the coffers of patent troll. Apple, of course, tried to reverse the decision, but without much success… until now.

According to new information from the Archyde.comApple managed to convince yesterday the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit from the USA to comply with a decision of the Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO, its acronym in English) of the country, which invalidated, last year, two patents that VirnetX had accused the company of infringing. More specifically, they were considered invalid given the existence of “previous publications describing the same inventions”.

That turnaround could end up freeing Apple from having to pay the $503 million in compensation stipulated by the Texas state court two years ago. However, as the company chose to appeal the decision separately, it still has to await the decision of the Federal Circuitwhich has yet to comment on the case.

The court heard both parties in September, and both understood that, if the Federal Circuit actually confirms the USPTO’s decision, the fine would likely be revoked. VirnetX’s lawyer, Jeff Lamkencommented on this possibility at the time: