Apple told to pay $302m in damages to patent firm

San Francisco, October 3

A local court has ordered technology giant Apple to pay $302.4 million to Nevada-based patent holding and security software company VirnetX for “infringing two patents related to Apple’s FaceTime communication application”.

According to a report in Ars Technica, the jury in Tyler, Texas, found that the Cupertino-based technology giant “infringed on two patents related to its FaceTime video conferencing application”.

The case began with four of VirnetX’s patents which originated at a company called Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

“The award also includes damages for infringement of VirnetX technology in Virtual Private Network on Demand,” the report added.

Apple said it plans to appeal the verdict.

The Cuppertino-based company will also have to contend with the trial in a second lawsuit VirnetX filed over newer Apple security features as well as its iMessage application, Fortune reported.

VirnetX and Apple have been fighting over patents for years. — IANS