In the news recently, Apple has been with the company’s reports soon slammed with the giant Anti-trust suit ever seen in tech company history. Recently, a jury in Texas has ruled that Apple has to pay VirnetX $502.8 million in royalties for Apple’s VPN on Demand feature that lets iOS users access a VPN connection.
According to reports, the two companies have been involved in a legal battle for ten years now. VirnetX argues that Apple’s VPN on Demand and FaceTime use its technology and not apple’s own.
Apple releasing a statement said, “This case has been going on for over a decade, with patents that are unrelated to the core operations of our products and are invalid by the patent office. Cases like this only serve to stifle innovation and harm consumers.”
Earlier, a US appeals court rejected Apple’s request to reconsider a split decision ruling that found on VirnetX patents. The ongoing court fight has gone back and forth several times, with a federal court in Texas issuing a notice to Apple 2018 and ordering it to pay VirnetX $502.6 million for violating four patents related to internet-based communications. It refers to the technology behind Apple’s FaceTime and iMessage.
However, sources claim that in November 2019, a three-judge panel voided that $502.6 million amount. The judges did not void a jury’s finding that some older iPhone models infringed two of VirnetX patents.
Apple’s business has been doing especially since the launch of its much anticipated iPhone 12 5G. But paying such a vast amount could very well cause the Cupertino giant huge losses.
Apple is already on a legal battle against Epic Games, and there is the possibility of the company being slammed with the most significant law of suit of this decade. Add this new brawl on top of it; it seems that troubles don’t seem to end for the iPhone maker.
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