“VirnetX Holding Corp. (VHC) rose the most in more than two years after a federal jury said Apple Inc. (AAPL) should pay $368.2 million for infringing patents for virtual- private-network technology,” Susan Decker reports for Bloomberg. “A federal jury in Tyler, Texas, yesterday said Apple’s FaceTime function, used on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as Mac computers, infringed four VirnetX patents. VirnetX had won a $200 million settlement from Microsoft Corp. in 2010 over the same technology.”
“‘This victory further establishes the importance of our patent portfolio,’ VirnetX Chief Executive Officer Kendall Larsen said in a statement,” Decker reports. “Following the verdict, Doug Cawley, a lawyer with McKool Smith in Dallas who represents VirnetX, said the company would seek an order to block further use of its inventions. Kristin Huguet, a spokeswoman for Apple, said yesterday the company had no comment.”
Decker reports, “The focus of the trial before U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis was on Apple’s FaceTime, which lets people use Mac computers to make video calls to an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. The Cupertino, California-based company said it used a different technology than what was covered by the VirnetX patents. ‘Apple does not owe money to VirnetX,’ Danny Williams, a lawyer with Williams, Morgan & Amerson in Houston who represents Apple, told the jury. ‘VirnetX is not entitled to money for things they did not invent. The VirnetX technology, if used, is a small part of very large, complex products.'”
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MacDailyNews Take: Lovely. So, what’s next today for AAPL shareholders? Watch out for falling pianos, Jony!
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