VirtnetX Holding Corp. has scored a major legal victory in its legal battle against Apple.
A federal judge in Texas awarded VirnetX, the kind of company often referred to as a patent troll, $502.6 million in damages over iMessage, FaceTime and VPN on Demand technologies, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Calling the amount “fair,” VirnetX CEO Kendall Larsen said, “The evidence was clear. Tell the truth and you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Apple denied VirnetX’s claims that its FaceTime, iMessage and VPN on Demand features infringe four VirnetX patents related to secure communications. The dispute, now in its eighth year, has bounced between the district court, patent office and Federal Circuit since 2010.
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VirnetX’s legal victory may be short lived because the Patent Trial and Appeal Board recently invalidated patents in cases that are currently before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. Two of those patents were leveraged in the case decided today.
SEC filings show VirnetX earns the entirety of its revenue from patent lawsuits.