Court Rejects $368 Million Verdict Against Apple in VirnetX Patent Lawsuit

A U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a previous ruling that awarded VirnetX $368 million in damages after the company initially sued Apple over its VPN connectivity and FaceTime video calling features.

The court ruled the verdict as 'tainted' since incorrect instructions were given to the jury during trial.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, a Washington-based court that handles patent dispute appeals, ruled the verdict was “tainted” by erroneous jury instructions in the case. The court also held some trial testimony from a VirnetX expert should have been excluded from the case.

At issue were VirnetX claims the FaceTime feature on Apple devices, as well as a feature related to virtual private networks, infringed the firm’s patents.

Although the $368 million verdict was thrown out, the court did rule that Apple did violate some of VirnetX's patents. The case will now go back to a trial court for further proceedings to redetermine damages.

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