VirnetX
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| AMEX: VHC Russell 2000 Component | |
| Founded | 1 January 2005  |
| Headquarters | |
VirnetX (AMEX: VHC) is a publicly traded corporation based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada. [1] The company is an Internet security software and technology company with patented technology for secure communications including 4G LTE security.
The Company's software and technology solutions, including its secure domain name registry and Gabriel Connection Technology™, are designed to facilitate secure communications and to create a secure environment for real-time communication applications such as instant messaging, VoIP, smartphones, eReaders and video conferencing. The Company's patent portfolio includes over 112 U.S. and international patents and over 75 pending applications. [2]
VirnetX was founded by Dr. Robert Dunham Short III, a former engineer and executive from Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), a company which developed security technology for the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies.[3] All of the patents held by VirnetX were co-invented by Dr. Short, VirtnetX's Founder and Chief Technology Officer.[4]
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.[5] Separately, in December 2014, Microsoft and VirnetX settled patent disputes over Skype technology for $23 million.[6] In their Apple case, VirnetX worked together with SAIC,[7] and was awarded $368 million in damages for FaceTime infringement.[8] That ruling was partially vacated on 8/19/2014, but two patents were confirmed to be infringed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.[9] 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.[10]
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. [11] 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. [12] 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
- ^ "VirnetX - Nevada Secretary of State". Retrieved 14 Nov 2018.
- ^ "VirnetX - Technology". Retrieved 14 Nov 2018.
- ^ "VirtnetX - Executive Management". Retrieved 14 Nov 2018.
- ^ "VirnetX - Patent Assignment Records United States Patent & Trademark Office". Retrieved 14 Nov 2018.
- ^ "Company - VirnetX".
- ^ Armental, Richard. "VirnetX, Microsoft Settle Patent Dispute Over Skype". wsj.
- ^ Smith, Gina. "Who is VirnetX? Apple To Pay $368 Million to IBM? NSA? CIA? Who?". A New Domain. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Bell, Killian. "U.S. Court Orders Apple To Pay $439.7 Million Damages For FaceTime Patent Infringement". TechCrunch. Retrieved 4 Aug 2014.
- ^ "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.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "VirnetX Opens Gabriel Beta Program". VirnetX.
- ^ Joe Mullin, Jury: Apple must pay $626 million to patent troll VirnetX, Ars Technica, February 4, 2016
- ^ Andrew Liptak, [1], The Verge, October 1, 2016