Tech

Apple to cough out $625m to settle lawsuit

Published

8 years ago

February 4, 2016

iPhone-maker Apple will have to cough out the sum of $625 million to pay notorious patent troll VirnetX following an order by a U.S. court which ruled that the tech company infringed on patents used in its iMessage and FaceTime services.

“The jury saw what we have been saying all along: Apple has been infringing VirnetX’s patented technology for years,” the legal firm that represents VirnetX said in a statement.

Reacting to the rule by the U.S. court Apple said the patent in question is not valid as the company will appeal the decision.

“We are surprised and disappointed by the verdict and we’re going to appeal. Our employees independently designed this technology over many years, and we received patents to protect this intellectual property. All four of VirnetX’s patents have been found invalid by the patent office. Cases like this simply reinforce the desperate need for patent reform,” it said in a statement.

The Nevada based VirnetX, which is commonly referred to as a troll because it makes almost all of its revenue from patent licensing and lawsuits, has sued a number of tech companies over the past decade.

This is not the firts time Apple is falling prey to VirnetX. Previously it won $368 million from Apple in 2013 when a U.S. court adjudged that it infringed on patents used in FaceTime and its VPN service inside iOS.

VirnetX has taken on Cisco, Avaya, Siemens and others for alleged patent violations in recent past.

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