Apple Sued for VPN On-Demand Functionality in Mountain Lion
Delaware VirnetX and Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) have jointly filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple. The Plaintiff's state that most of Apple's mobile devices such as the iPhone that connect to Mountain Lion supporting the VPN On-Demand functionality infringe on four of their patents. Should VirnetX be taken seriously? Most certainly, as the company has just won their case against Apple concerning FaceTime infringing their patents.
The Patents that Apple Allegedly Infringe
According to the plaintiffs formal complaint before the Court, Apple has infringed upon four of their patents as acknowledged here: 1. Patent 6,502,135 titled - Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications with Assured System Availability; 2. Patent 7,418,504 titled - Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names; 3. Patent. 7,490,151 titled - Establishment of a Secure Communication Link Based on a Domain Name Service (DNS) Request; and 4. Patent 7,921,211 titled - Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names. The document states that SAIC maintains an equity interest and review rights related to the first three patents noted above.
The Heart of the Case
The Plaintiff's complaint states that "at least Apple's servers and other Apple computers that support the VPN On Demand functionality, when configured and operating in a system as specified by Apple, and Apple's iPhone 5, iPod Touch 5th Generation, iPad 4th Generation, iPad mini, and all Apple computers/hardware associated with the operation of the Mountain Lion operating system, when configured and operating in a system as specified by Apple, infringe at least system claims 10 and 12 of the '135 patent. Apple makes and/or uses these systems and thus directly infringes at least claims 10 and 12 of the '135 patent."
Other claims that infringe the Plaintiff's patents include 1, 3, 7, 8 and 9.
The Plaintiffs are seeking triple damages due to alleged willful infringement.
The case was filed in the Texas Eastern District Court in Tyler Texas.
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Joe9. To those uneducated in IP matters, it's hard to distinguish between tangible physical product manufacturers and those who invent technology that one can not hold in the hand.
However, the truth is, without CDMA, LTE, and all other wireless protocols -- there would be no system for which an iPhone can operate. Without the invention of super microprocessors, the applications wouldn't have an environment to run.
The truth is, VirnetX invented a secure method of real time communications that Apple chose to incorporate in its products. Period.
Posted by: Rheal T. Hertz | November 08, 2012 at 04:31 PM
Joe9 - do your DD/homeowork. Read the VHC background. These are REAL products and inventions that are essential patents for the global 4G security standards!! Apple, the great innovator (they believe), is finally caught with their hand in the cookie jar big time. They stole it outright and have known about it all along. Maybe now they will get some justice for Xerox and others that Apple "borrowed" ideas from. If they were really world class their engineers and patent attorneys would know what they are doing. Idiots. They deserve to pay for a long, long time.
Posted by: Tjohn | November 08, 2012 at 01:31 PM
Apple makes world class products, real products. Most trolls don't make anything so why should they be considered legitimate? The courts may recognize them as one of their own, but to the public, they're just thieves trying to get paid as a nuance suite. It's just a money grab.
Posted by: Joe9 | November 08, 2012 at 01:14 PM
Let me guess. When Apple is taken to court the lawsuit is filed by a "patent troll". But when Apple is the one filing the lawsuits they are considered a benevolent "patent defender".
Pretty funny stuff.
Posted by: Rheal T. Hertz | November 08, 2012 at 12:50 PM