Apple ordered to pay $368 Million

CanuckBoater · Nov 6, 2012

Interesting decision by a Texas jury ..

Apple loses VirnetX patent trial, ordered to pay $368M

MacDude121 · Nov 11, 2012

It looks like this "VirnetX" has had multiple lawsuits with large software and hardware companies over the past few years. Kinda makes you wonder, would all of those separate companies steal at least 5 different patents from this one place in particular?

Sounds kinda fishy to me...

iggibar · Nov 11, 2012

MacDude121 said:
It looks like this "VirnetX" has had multiple lawsuits with large software and hardware companies over the past few years. Kinda makes you wonder, would all of those separate companies steal at least 5 different patents from this one place in particular?

Sounds kinda fishy to me...

Why is it fishy for a company to have other lawsuits with other companies? What would that make Apple? Dead fish you find on a shore?

ChrisMan287 · Nov 11, 2012

That's chump change to them.

MacDude121 · Nov 11, 2012

iggibar said:
Why is it fishy for a company to have other lawsuits with other companies? What would that make Apple? Dead fish you find on a shore?

"In yet another VirnetX filing in 2010, the company brought similar allegations against Apple, Cisco Systems, Astra Technologies, and NEC Corporation, claiming infringement of at least five patents."

Even Microsoft has lost trials with this corporation.

What exactly makes this VirnetX so special and revolutionary with their patents, at all of these well established companies would resort to stealing or "violating" their patented rights? I can understand apple having dozens of pending patent trials with other companies, seeing as they probably have 1000's of patents filed each year, but this VirnetX...yeah...doubtful.

Either way, Apple will just appeal it and have it overturned, or pay up and it'll be done with. 368Million is nothing.

iggibar · Nov 11, 2012

"Small" companies have their patents infringed all the time, especially when a patent relates to something that has good demand. A lot of patent infringement occurs over similarities in ideas, or from even simple things such as the naming of a patent. There's nothing about from any of the related news that seems fishy to me about VirnetX. They have a legitimate case of infringement from multiple parties, regardless of number of infringed patents.

Nethfel · Nov 12, 2012

They may also have a function of the company being patent holding. They might buy up a lot of smaller patents in the hopes that some big company will infringe and sue to make their general money.

RedParka · Nov 15, 2012

They have been sue crazy lately, so it is nice to see them pay out other people who deserve it. I read an article not to long ago that they tried to sue an old media company or something in Mexico for using the name IFone, which was established long before the iphone was released. Anyway they lost the case and of course IFone counter sued which is in trial now.