Apple Ordered to Pay $625 Million in VirnetX Patent Dispute - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Apple Ordered to Pay $625 Million in VirnetX Patent Dispute

Apple was today found guilty of willfully infringing on four patents in an ongoing dispute with VirnetX and has been ordered to pay $625 million in damages, reports CNBC.

The patents in question relate to virtual private networking (VPN) protocols and in today's ruling, the jury decided that Apple's FaceTime and iMessages service, along with the iOS devices that support those services, infringe on VirnetX's intellectual property.

virnetx
The patent dispute between Apple and VirnetX dates back to 2010, with a jury initially awarding VirnetX $368 million in 2012 after Apple was found guilty of infringing on VirnetX patents. That decision was thrown out in September of 2014 after the damages were found to have been incorrectly calculated, but a damages retrial that started last week led to the decision handed down this afternoon.

VirnetX originally requested $532 million in damages, an amount that grew to $625 million taking into account the willful infringement ruling.

Ahead of the jury's decision, CNBC says Apple filed a request asking U.S District Judge Robert Schroeder to declare a mistrial, accusing VirnetX of misleading and confusing the jury during its closing arguments. Schroeder has not yet made a ruling on the request.

Tag: VirnetX

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Wednesday July 29, 2026 11:39 am PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system that is essentially a mix of tvOS, watchOS, and iOS, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In a report this week, he said the operating system will feature a grid of icons, widgets, and apps, along with customizable clock faces. The new software platform is intended for Apple's long-rumored smart home hub. With built-in facial recognition,...
imac video apple feature

Apple Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever This Year

Wednesday July 29, 2026 12:03 pm PDT by
Apple this year acquired Israeli startup Q.ai for close to $2 billion, according to the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone maker Beats in 2014. This is also the largest known Apple acquisition since the company purchased Intel's smartphone modem business and patents for $1 billion in 2019. Q.ai...
Four iPhone 18 Pro Colors Mock Feature

iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra: Pre-Orders and Release Date

Thursday July 30, 2026 6:12 am PDT by
Apple has yet to reveal when the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Ultra will be announced and released, but the dates usually follow a familiar pattern. Labor Day is September 7 this year. The last time the holiday fell on that day was in 2020, but the iPhone event that year was delayed until October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, the last time Labor Day was on September 7 in a normal year was in ...

Top Rated Comments

crisss1205 Avatar
137 months ago
apple do the same thing over patents, now everyone is gunning for them!
Well to be fair, Apple actually makes products that use those patents. As far as I know, VirnetX does not make a single product and is essentially a patent troll.
Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
137 months ago
Judge Robert Schroeder was a partner at Patton Tidwell Schroeder & Culbertson LLP (now renamed to Patton Tidwell & Culbertson) that reperesents...guess what? you got it: patent-holding companies, a.k.a patent trolls.
Score: 37 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
137 months ago
Good. Apple has too much money, anyway.
There you are! I was wondering where the absolute final arbiter of who has too much money and who doesn't have enough was. Thanks for coming forward.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdlink Avatar
137 months ago
Pet Peeve: Can we please stop saying that someone is "guilty" of something in a civil suit? Guilty is a term that is used in criminal proceedings.

Civil litigants are held liable for damages to the complainant.
[doublepost=1454542370][/doublepost]
Why?
Because it's not his.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bubba Satori Avatar
137 months ago
Good. Apple has too much money, anyway.
Why?
How much money should they have?
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
avanpelt Avatar
137 months ago
Good. Apple has too much money, anyway.
Seriously? Just out of curiosity, what's the "too much money" threshold, in your opinion?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)

🔗 Related Apple News & Rumors

Stay updated with the latest Apple ecosystem news and verified rumors