Apple Obliged To Pay US$500M Over Patents Powering ‘iMessage’ & ‘FaceTime’
Video screenshot via Apple
An eight-year-long legal dispute has resulted in the ordering of Apple to pay internet security services company VirnetX US$502.6 million over patents for ‘FaceTime’ and ‘iMessage’.
According to Bloomberg, a federal jury in Texas decided that Apple was infringing on four of VirnetX’s “secure communications” patents.
VirnetX, a brand describing itself as a securer of “real-time communications over the internet,” is what the tech industry likes to call a “patent troll,” a term used for companies that primarily make money by suing others over vague intellectual property regulations or legal loopholes.
On Tuesday, VirnetX’s stock skyrocketed by 44% following the verdict. Apple’s stock, on the other hand, saw little change, as the amount was a relatively petty sum for the tech giant. Bloomberg pointed out that it made US$20 billion in profit in the first quarter of 2018 alone.
Kendall Larsen, CEO of VirnetX, described that the damages Apple owed were “fair.”
“The evidence was clear. Tell the truth and you don’t have to worry about anything.”
[via Bloomberg and Gizmodo, cover image via Apple]
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