There has been a new advancement in the patent battle between Apple and VirnetX, and a US appeals court has affirmed a $440 million fine that Apple will have to pay.
The original verdict dates back to 2016, in which Apple was ordered to pay VirnetX, an intellectual property firm, $302.4 million in damages. This fine was over willful infringement of licenses for LTE connectivity used in several iOS apps like FaceTime. Apple set out to appeal and after three years of legal batter, has finally lost the case yet again. The fine has also been now revised to $440 million, accounting for enhanced damages, interest and more expenses incurred by the opposing party during the appeal process.
On Tuesday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied Apple’s appeal to turn aside the original ruling imposing the fine. However, Apple has stated that it plans to appeal the verdict yet again, this time in the Supreme Court. Currently, Apple owes VirnetX about $1.80 for every unit sold that infringed the patent, and this list of products includes MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads.
With all that said, it is important to keep in mind that some people dub VirnetX as a “patent troll”. The company patents technologies and then sues companies that use them in their product. The company has previously filed claims against other tech giants like Microsoft and Cisco.
Apple ordered to pull a section of the press release from the Qualcomm case