Within a year’s time, federal juries plucked from the Eastern District of Texas have levied more than $1.1 billion in damages against the Tech giant Apple Inc. for alleged patent infringement.
On Feb. 3 a Tyler jury awarded plaintiff VirnetX $625.6 million in damages, finding that Apple’s FaceTime and iMessage software infringed patents held by the Nevada company, court records show.
Last February, an East Texas jury found Apple infringed on three patents held by Smartflash for media storage, awarding the Tyler company $532 million in damages.
VirnetX, along with Science Applications International, filed suit against apple on Nov. 6, 2012, in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, Tyler Division.
According to the third amended complaint, the plaintiffs allegedly infringed the following patents:
• No. 6,502,135, entitled “Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications with Assured System Availability;”
• No. 7,418,504, entitled “Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names;”
• No. 7,490,151, entitled “Establishment of a Secure Communication Link Based on a Domain Name Service (DNS) Request;”
• No. 7,921,211, entitled “Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names;”
• No. 8,051,181, entitled “Method for Establishing Secure Communication Link Between Computers of Virtual Private Network;” and
• No. 8,504,697 (“the ’697 patent”) entitled “System and Method Employing an Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names.”
The verdict form states that Apple does not contest that the original version of VPN on demand feature (iOS 3-6, 2009-2013) infringed VirnetX’s ‘135 and ‘151 patents.
When asked how much money would fairly and reasonably compensate VirnetX for the infringement, jurors awarded $334,908,773.73.
Jurors further found that Apple infringed on VirnetX’s ‘504 and ‘211 patents, awarding the company $290,725,067.31.
Apple moved for a mistrial the same day the verdict was issued, contending counsel for VirnetX made arguments outside the evidence during closing arguments, which served to confuse, mislead and inflame the jury to render a verdict not based on the record, court records show.
Apple is represented in part by Gregory Arovas, attorney for the New York law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
VirnetX is represented in part by Bradley Caldwell, attorney for the Dallas law firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry.
Case No. 6:12-cv-00855