VirnetX

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VirnetX
NYSE: VHC
Russell 2000 Component
Founded1 January 2005 Edit this on Wikidata
Headquarters
308 Dorla Court, Suite 206 Zephyr Cove, Nevada
Key people
Kendall Larsen (CEO)
Number of employees
20
SubsidiariesNational Research Corporation - Japan, Ltd. VirnetX Inc.

VirnetX (NYSE: VHC) is a publicly traded Internet security software and technology company based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.[1]

VirnetX has been described as a patent troll, whose primary business model is patent licensing and suing infringing companies.[2] The company has won intellectual property litigation against various technology companies.[3][4] Kendall Larsen is the company's CEO.[5]

History[edit]

Dr. Robert Dunham Short, Chief Scientist/Director, and Dr. Victor Larson, Chief Technology Officer at VirnetX, co-invented a protocol in 1998[6] that encrypts real-time audio and video transmissions, which was then sought by Apple for their FaceTime app.[7]

The company's patent portfolio includes U.S. and international patents in areas such as DNS and network communication. Since 2010, VirnetX has been in litigation with companies including Apple, Cisco, and Microsoft.[8] Separately, in December 2014, Microsoft and VirnetX settled patent disputes over Skype technology for $23 million.[9] In their Apple case, VirnetX worked together with SAIC,[10] and was awarded $368 million in damages for FaceTime infringement.[11] That ruling was partially vacated in August 2014, but two patents were confirmed to be infringed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.[12]

In December 2014, VirnetX opened access to their Gabriel platform, which builds upon their patents, and is implemented as small to medium-sized business enterprise collaboration software.[13] Apple has appealed rulings against it in state and federal courts and demanded a jury trial for the VirtnetX case. In February 2016 an East Texas jury unanimously ruled in federal court that Apple had willfully violated 13 VirnetX patents. The jury said Apple must pay VirnetX $625.6 million for infringing four of the patents, and the court was considering ongoing royalty rates and punitive damages.[14] At Apple's request, the ruling was vacated in August 2016 and the case sent back to be retried separating the patents into two groups. VirnetX has filed an injunction to block sales of Facetime and iMessage, claiming that its own platforms are suffering.

The first retrial, conducted from September 26 to September 30, 2016, resulted in another unanimous jury verdict for VirnetX.[15] The verdict re-affirmed patent violations enabling Facetime and iMessage and awarded $439.7 million to VirnetX. The remaining two patents will be tried separately.

In 2018, Apple was ordered to pay $502.6 million to VirnetX, but that order was vacated in 2019. Apple was still found by the jury to be infringing two patents, but attempted to appeal this judgement.[16] In February 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court did not consider an appeal made by Apple.[17] Apple's request for a new trial was overturned in January 2021.[18]

In March 2021, the patent and trial appeal board ruled that two of VirnetX's patents were invalid in its dispute with Apple.[19]

VirnetX Matrix, which secures private access to Internet applications and infrastructure, and War Room, a security video conferencing solution, were both launched in 2022.[20] [21]

On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned a $502 million verdict in favor of patent licensing company VirnetX against Apple in a dispute over VPN patents, following the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's cancellation of the patents that VirnetX had accused Apple of infringing.[22][23]

VirnetX announced a partnership with Samsung in May 2023 to resell Samsung’s digital display products, including the Samsung Interactive Pro, for hybrid workspaces using the VirnetX One family suite, including War Room and VirnetX Matrix.[24]

In March 2024, VirnetX and Samsung announced an extension of their partnership, working together to provide technology to scientifically document and analyze unidentified aerial phenomena for History Channel’s The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.[25][26]

Products[edit]

VirnetX has developed a range of software and technology solutions including VirnetX One, War Room, VirnetX Matrix and Gabriel Connection Technology.[27][28][29][30]

VirnetX One is a secure communication platform which utilizes Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to enable private, encrypted networks between user and devices.[31]

War Room is a security solution which validates and certifies access to select users, securing domains and authenticated devices prior to enabling access to a secure video conferencing platform.[32] The solution is backed by over 194 patents to protect critical data.[21]

Launched in 2022, VirnetX Matrix was originally designed to protect and secure communications for the United States Intelligence Community. VirnetX’s Secure Domain Name Technology removes users’ public internet communications from the public domain, making applications protected by VirnetX Matrix only visible and accessible to authorized users and their authenticated devices[20][31][33]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "VirnetX - Nevada Secretary of State". Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  2. ^
  3. ^ Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft pays VirnetX $200 million to settle patent case". ZDNet.
  4. ^ "Apple Rebuffed by Supreme Court in $1 Billion VirnetX Dispute".
  5. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (September 16, 2014). "U.S. court throws out VirnetX $368 million patent award vs Apple". Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  6. ^ US7490151B2, Munger, Edward Colby; III, Robert Dunham Short & Larson, Victor et al., "Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request", issued 2009-02-10 
  7. ^ "Apple is Afraid of Inventors, Not Patent Trolls". IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law. March 21, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  8. ^ "Company Interview: Kendall Larsen, VirnetX Holding Corporation". April 22, 2008.
  9. ^ Armental, Richard. "VirnetX, Microsoft Settle Patent Dispute Over Skype". wsj.
  10. ^ Smith, Gina. "Who is VirnetX? Apple To Pay $368 Million to IBM? NSA? CIA? Who?". A New Domain. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  11. ^ Bell, Killian. "U.S. Court Orders Apple To Pay $439.7 Million Damages For FaceTime Patent Infringement". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  12. ^ "United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Virnetx, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  13. ^ "VirnetX Opens Gabriel Beta Program". VirnetX.
  14. ^ Joe Mullin, Jury: Apple must pay $626 million to patent troll VirnetX, Ars Technica, February 4, 2016
  15. ^ Andrew Liptak, [1], The Verge, October 1, 2016
  16. ^ Lyons, Kim (October 31, 2020). "Apple ordered to pay VirnetX $502.8 million in patent trial". The Verge. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  17. ^ "Supreme Court rejects appeal in Apple's $1-billion dispute over FaceTime patents". Los Angeles Times. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  18. ^ "Apple fails to overturn VirnetX patent verdict, could owe over $1.1 billion". Reuters. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  19. ^ "VirnetX Falls as Appeals Court Denies Bid to Nix Patent Ruling". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  20. ^ a b "VirnetX Launches Matrix to Secure Internet Applications and Services". CIO Influence. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Tim Keary (March 1, 2022). "VirnetX releases secure conferencing solution to thwart 'Zoom bombing'". Venture Beat. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  22. ^ Brittain, Blake (March 30, 2023). "Apple wins U.S. appeal over patents in $502 mln VirnetX verdict". Reuters. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  23. ^ Dobberstein, Laura. "Decade-old patent lawsuit goes Apple's way". The Register. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  24. ^ Bruce Christian (May 15, 2023). "VirnetX Collaborates with Samsung". RWS. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  25. ^ "Skinwalker Ranch partners with Samsung, VirnetX in command center". Digital Signage Today. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  26. ^ Karen Stealey (March 18, 2024). "Skinwalker Ranch's mysteries unveiled through Samsung tech". Samsung. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  27. ^ "VHC.N - | Stock Price & Latest News | Reuters". www.reuters.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  28. ^ "Check out VirnetX Holding Corp's stock price (VHC) in real time". CNBC. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  29. ^ Christian, Bruce (May 15, 2023). "VirnetX Collaborates with Samsung". Remote Work Solutions. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  30. ^ "VHC Taking Samsung Displays Into War Rooms". Display Daily. August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  31. ^ a b "VirnetX launches Matrix to secure internet applications and services". CIO. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  32. ^ "Secure Video Conferencing". Solution Synergy. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  33. ^ "Stealth Network Access Security". Solution Synergy. Retrieved April 19, 2024.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=VirnetX&oldid=1219756506"