Court orders Apple to pay $439mn to VirnetX for patent case loss

Apple has been slapped with a $439 million fine after infringing four patented technologies of VirnetX which are used in FaceTime and other iOS apps. The US District Court has announced the final ruling which was going on since 2012. However, Apple is planning to appeal the ruling.

VirnetX first filed suit against Apple in 2010, winning US$368 million two years later. It then sued Apple again in 2012, which is the suit that was being ruled on this time.  Apple initially lost the suit, and then filed for a mistrial. It won a new trial, lost that trial, and was ordered to pay around US$300 million, then lost some more money and is now having that amount increased even further. This happened because a judge found Apple guilty of willful infringement, bumping its payment amount from US$1.20 per infringing Apple device to US$1.80 per device. In response to the ruling, VirnetX has said that this was a “reasonable amount.”

In a statement, VirnetX CEO Kendall Larsen said he's elated with the court's final judgment. He said, "We are elated with the Court's Final Judgement of $439 million in that not only did it affirm the jury's verdict of $1.20per infringing iPhone, iPad and Mac Product, but also added for willful infringement, interest and attorney fees.  This is the third time a jury has ruled in our favor against Apple."

Apple seems to be getting too many legal battles nowadays. Recently, Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Apple in China in an attempt to stop manufacturing and sales of iPhones in China.