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Apple Loses Patent Retrial To VirnetX, Owes $302.4 Million (reuters.com)
Slashdot reader chasm22 quotes Reuters:
A federal jury in Texas on Friday night ordered Apple Inc to pay more than $302 million in damages for using VirnetX Holding Corp's patented internet security technology without permission in features including its FaceTime video conferencing application. The verdict came in a new trial in Tyler, Texas that had been ordered by the judge in the case, Robert Schroeder, who last August threw out VirnetX's $625.6 million win over Apple from a previous trial because he said jurors in that case may have been confused...
A jury in 2012 awarded $368.2 million in damages, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., partly overturned that verdict, saying there were problems with how the trial judge instructed jurors on calculating damages. On remand, VirnetX's two suits were combined, and in February, a jury returned with an even bigger verdict, $625.6 million, one of the highest ever in a U.S. patent case... However, Schroeder later voided the result, saying that the repeated references to the earlier case could have confused jurors and were unfair to Apple... Apple will also have to contend with the trial in a second lawsuit VirnetX filed against Apple over newer versions of Apple security features, as well as its iMessage application.
The article points out that "Many patent cases are handled in the Texas court, which has a reputation for awarding favorable verdicts to plaintiffs alleging infringement."
A jury in 2012 awarded $368.2 million in damages, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., partly overturned that verdict, saying there were problems with how the trial judge instructed jurors on calculating damages. On remand, VirnetX's two suits were combined, and in February, a jury returned with an even bigger verdict, $625.6 million, one of the highest ever in a U.S. patent case... However, Schroeder later voided the result, saying that the repeated references to the earlier case could have confused jurors and were unfair to Apple... Apple will also have to contend with the trial in a second lawsuit VirnetX filed against Apple over newer versions of Apple security features, as well as its iMessage application.
The article points out that "Many patent cases are handled in the Texas court, which has a reputation for awarding favorable verdicts to plaintiffs alleging infringement."
From what is there, this looks like a pretty reasonable verdict. Apple infringed on four patents held by the plaintiff and got their heads handed to them.
May very well be one of those cases where the patent system works correctly. Given Apples past bad actions it's a shame the original verdict wasn't upheld
This is a real patent and Apple was aware of it. They just assumed they could crush the patent holder and get away with it if it went to court because they have deeper pockets. This isn't a unique situation; Nintendo also does that frequently, and Microsoft used to.
After the whole Samsung debacle Apple can hardly play the offended virgin about patents. It's like politicians who ask for a different electoral process when they,re afraid to lose an election but say nothing when they win (ex: Obama).
lucm, indeed.
Irony
Live by the sword, reap what you die by the soweth.
rounded corners bites back!
somebody should patent rounded corners that bites.
I am not a big Apple supporter and I think our patent system is corrupt and totally broken.
But this smells, isn't this being adjudicated in the Eastern District of Texas the center of all that screams PATENT TROLL!
Pay them in Euros, that's one way to use the money accumulating in Ireland avoiding taxes upon repatriation. :-)
That is one of the worst mixed metaphors I have ever seen in English. You should write a novel and challenge Amanda McKittrick Ros.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
If Apple was a patent troll, you'd hear about them suing other companies on an hourly basis, not every few years. You do know that Samsung sued Apple as well, right? Right?
Yep. The plaintiffs shop for a favorable court, and they pick this one court in a small town in Texas.
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-small-town-judge-who-sees-a-quarter-of-the-nations-patent-cases
http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/patently-unfair/
VirtnetX pretty much sues everyone. They are patent trolls. They lost against Cisco, which means we can sill use VPNs.
Apple will undoubtedly appeal, and cite Alice Corp vs CLS Bank, which has about a 78% win track record for the defendant, when cited as part of a patent case. Either way: the next level of appeal takes it out of East Texas, also known as "Patent Troll Heaven".
This is a joke pls no sue
No, it's until the innocent but poor guy runs out of money or gives up before trial due to the disparity between the ideal of justice and the available outcomes.
Requiem for the American Dream
If you want to continue your "real patent" defense, you might want to consider that this technical audience is very interested in what novel technique is actually being litigated over. The fact that no details seem quickly apparent suggests it is likely some one-click-purchasing bullshit
Dude are you for real? Next time you want to play the "this is a tech crowd don't bullshit us" card, make sure your question can't be answered with a simple fucking google search.
There's already hints in the article about VPN and DNS security, and if that's not enough any retard with internet access can find out more easily.
But of course you have done none of that. It's easier to post your lame accusations based on the fact that "no details seem quickly apparent". I've heard more convincing arguments from the guy who rummages through the recycle bins outside at 2am when he argues wih himself out loud.
lucm, indeed.
Samsung didn't admit Jack. As for the phones before the iPhone, well, the LG Prada was the first phone with a capacitive screen. So, Apple really copied LG. But it's OK, LG ain't going to sue Apple's ass.
I've concluded that abolishing parents is the only way to truly solve the problem.
Then you'd be back to trade secrets, or possibly {big evil corp} stealing {little guy}'s idea and profiting off it before {little guy} could.
The point of patents was to promote sharing information in exchange for temporary exclusivity. However, over time, Corporations have forgotten about that "temporary" part. That's the part that needs changing
Then do like normal people and blame the editors.
lucm, indeed.
What technology companies should start doing is just stop offering any services or products in East Texas anymore.
See how they like the luddite repercussions. Really they are ruining it for the rest of the world, so why should they see any of the benefits?