Apple ordered to pay $502.6 million in patent infringement lawsuit

A federal court in Texas has ordered Apple to pay $502.6 million to VirnetX Holding Corp over a patent dispute that has been reportedly going on for eight years. Bloomberg reports that that the jury reported that found Apple to be infringing upon four patents related to secure communications. VirnetX claimed that features in Apple’s FaceTime, VPN on Demand and iMessage infringes upon these patents. 

As per the report, the dispute has bounced between the district court, patent office, and Federal Circuit since 2010. However, it also adds that this victory might be short lived as the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has claimed the patents to be invalid, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington is currently reviewing such cases.

VirnetX is based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada and reported just over $1 million in revenues last year. Following this news, the company’s stock rose by as much as 44 percent. By contrast, the report notes that Apple’s stock saw little change as the $502.6 million award is quite miniscule as compared to the company’s profits.

However, VirnetX is not the only company that is in the processes of taking Apple to court. It was recently reported that health technology startup, Omni MedSci had filed a lawsuit against Apple for the heart rate sensing technology used in the Apple Watch. The lawsuit claims that the sensor technology infringed upon patents belonging to Omni MedSci’s Founder and CTO, Dr. Mohammed N. Islam. As per the report, the heart rate sensor on the Watch infringed upon four patents. Each of which is said to reference a wearable device that uses a source of light and a receiver to capture non-invasive blood measurements. Omni MedSci claimed that the Apple Watch uses this technology to measure a user’s heart rate.

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