U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear VirnetX Patent Case, Saving Apple $503 Million

The United States Supreme Court today said that it will not hear the VirnetX vs. Apple patent case, putting an end to a 14-year-long legal battle and ultimately saving Apple $502.8 million.

As noted by CNBC, with the Supreme Court not weighing in, a March 2023 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will stand, so Apple will not have to pay the damages that VirnetX won in 2020.

VirnetX won a successful jury trial against Apple in 2020 and Apple was found to have violated VirnetX patents with its iPhone VPN on demand feature. The two patents cited in the case were later invalidated in a separate ruling from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

After Apple appealed the initial 2020 ruling, it was able to point to the invalidation of the patents and get the initial award vacated by the federal appeals court. VirnetX attempted to escalate the patent invalidation case to the Supreme Court, but has been denied.

VirnetX is viewed as a patent holding company or "patent troll" that does not offer actual products or services. It generates revenue by suing technology companies that infringe on or license its patents.

While Apple will not have to pay the $503 million from this particular trial, Apple did have to shell out $440 million in 2019 for violating VirnetX's communications security patents with FaceTime and iMessage.