Overcoming patent rogues? Apple temporarily saved $625.6 million

Recently, Apple has been deeply involved in various large and small patent cases, and most of them have lost their lawsuits. One of the most noteworthy cases was a case in February of this year because Apple infringed four VirnetX patents and was sentenced to pay US$625.6 million in compensation. This is one of the highest compensation cases in the history of US patent litigation.

However, according to Reuters, the U.S. federal judge recently rejected the decision and asked VirnetX to submit the case separately and the court will reopen the case. Texas Federal Judge Robert Schroeder stated that VirnetX's decision to consolidate the two charges in one trial was unfair to Apple, so the two cases will be reviewed separately, and the first trial will be September 26 begins.

For the court's new decision, Kendall Larsen, VirnetX’s chief executive, said, “We will evaluate all our possible options and then prepare for the retrial according to the court’s instructions.”

VirnetX is an IP company based in Nevada, USA. Its main source of income is patents. As early as 2010, VirnetX took Apple to court on the grounds that some features of the Apple iPhone infringed on the company's technology patents, including virtual private network technology and secure communication link technology in FaceTime video chat.

It is worth noting that, in 2010, VirnetX also accused Microsoft of infringing the patents related to virtual private networks. Microsoft was forced to pay 200 million U.S. dollars.

Previously analysts pointed out that from the VirnetX company's acquisition of patents, relying on litigation companies to obtain revenue operating model, this company may belong to "patent rogue" companies.