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VirnetX

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VirnetX
AMEX: VHC
Russell 2000 Component
Founded1 January 2005 Edit this on Wikidata
Headquarters
Zephyr Cove Edit this on Wikidata

VirnetX (AMEX: VHC) is a publicly traded corporation based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.[1] The company was founded as an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for secure communications including 4G LTE security as well as later iterations; however, in its early years it found itself widely reported to be an intellectual property licensing firm. This is often the case with smaller companies with robust patent portfolios as larger corporations determine it is cheaper to steal the patents and take their chances in court.[2] The company has also been wrongly [and pejoratively] referred to as a patent troll, as it originally marketed no actual products or services [3] and instead earned its revenue through licensing patents and protecting its lawfully issued United States Patents through successful litigation, [4] including a victory at the United States Supreme Court [5]. VirnetX's ability to win in court is a product of superior legal representation [6] and strong patents. [7].

Patents & Patent Litigation

The company's patent portfolio includes U.S. and international patents in areas such as DNS and network communication. Since 2010, VirnetX has been in litigation with companies including Apple, Cisco, and Microsoft.[8] Separately, in December 2014, Microsoft and VirnetX settled patent disputes over Skype technology for $23 million.[9] In their Apple case, VirnetX worked together with SAIC,[10] and was awarded $368 million in damages for FaceTime infringement.[11] That ruling was partially vacated in August 2014, but two patents were confirmed to be infringed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.[12] In December 2014, VirnetX opened access to their Gabriel platform, which builds upon their patents, and is implemented as small to medium-sized business enterprise collaboration software.[13]

Apple has appealed rulings against it in state and federal courts and demanded a jury trial for the VirtnetX case. In February 2016 an East Texas jury unanimously ruled in federal court that Apple had willfully violated 13 VirnetX patents. The jury said Apple must pay VirnetX $625.6 million for infringing four of the patents, and the court was considering ongoing royalty rates and punitive damages. [14] At Apple's request, the ruling was vacated in August 2016 and the case sent back to be retried separating the patents into two groups. VirnetX has filed an injunction to block sales of Facetime and iMessage, claiming that its own platforms are suffering.

The first retrial, conducted Sept 26-Sept 30, 2016 resulted in another unanimous jury verdict for VirnetX. [15] The verdict re-affirmed patent violations enabling Facetime and iMessage and awarded $439.7 million to VirnetX. The remaining 2 patents will be tried separately

References

  1. ^ "VirnetX - Nevada Secretary of State". Retrieved 14 Nov 2018.
  2. ^ "The Patent Litigation Lie".
  3. ^ "Virnetx Launches Gabriel Collaboration Suite".
  4. ^ "Microsoft pays VirnetX $200 million to settle patent case".
  5. ^ "Apple Rebuffed by Supreme Court in $1 Billion VirnetX Dispute".
  6. ^ "Dallas' Caldwell Cassady & Curry Earns Texas Verdicts Hall of Fame Honors".
  7. ^ "Apple grudgingly opens up its check book, pays VirnetX $454m in patent royalties after a decade of wrangling".
  8. ^ "Company Interview: Kendall Larsen, VirnetX Holding Corporation". April 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Armental, Richard. "VirnetX, Microsoft Settle Patent Dispute Over Skype". wsj.
  10. ^ Smith, Gina. "Who is VirnetX? Apple To Pay $368 Million to IBM? NSA? CIA? Who?". A New Domain. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  11. ^ Bell, Killian. "U.S. Court Orders Apple To Pay $439.7 Million Damages For FaceTime Patent Infringement". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 Aug 2014.
  12. ^ "United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Virnetx, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  13. ^ "VirnetX Opens Gabriel Beta Program". VirnetX.
  14. ^ Joe Mullin, Jury: Apple must pay $626 million to patent troll VirnetX, Ars Technica, February 4, 2016
  15. ^ Andrew Liptak, [1], The Verge, October 1, 2016
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