On November 6, a federal jury in Tyler, Texas, ordered Apple Inc. to pay $368 million for infringing four patents owned by a small software company called VirnetX Inc. The patents relate to virtual private network (VPN) technology.
McKool Smith’s Douglas Cawley led the trial team for VirnetX, one of the few publicly traded companies largely dependent on patent litigation for revenue. Apple looked to Danny Williams at Williams Morgan & Amerson. Cawley first sued Apple on VirnetX’s behalf in 2010, alleging that Apple infringed two patents that protect the automatic creation of secured communication channels between mobile devices. Apple was accused of infringing the patents with its popular FaceTime feature in iPhones and iPads, as well as with an earlier technology in Apple computers known as VPN On Demand that VirnetX asserted was a blatant copy of VirnetX’s software. Apple denied that it infringed the VirnetX patents, and contended that the patents were invalid because they were anticipated by a Japanese technical article. Trial got under way on October 29. VirnetX’s expert pegged damages at $708 million.
