Apple Fails to Overturn VirnetX Patent Verdict, Could Owe over $1.1 Bln

A federal judge denied Apple bid to set aside or reduce a $502.8 million patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX Holding Corp. (Reuters)
A federal judge denied Apple bid to set aside or reduce a $502.8 million patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX Holding Corp. (Reuters)
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Apple Fails to Overturn VirnetX Patent Verdict, Could Owe over $1.1 Bln

A federal judge denied Apple bid to set aside or reduce a $502.8 million patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX Holding Corp. (Reuters)
A federal judge denied Apple bid to set aside or reduce a $502.8 million patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX Holding Corp. (Reuters)

A federal judge denied Apple Inc’s bid to set aside or reduce a $502.8 million patent infringement verdict favoring VirnetX Holding Corp, and awarded interest and royalties that could boost Apple’s total payout in two lawsuits above $1.1 billion.

In a decision issued on Friday, US District Judge Robert Schroeder in Tyler, Texas rejected Apple’s request for a new trial and several other claims.

These included that VirnetX’s award should not exceed $113.7 million, and that jurors should have been told the US Patent and Trademark Office had deemed VirnetX’s claims “unpatentable.”

Jurors in October found that Apple infringed two VirnetX patents related to secure networks, known as virtual private networks, to which owners of various iPhones and iPads may connect.

Schroeder also awarded royalties of 84 cents per unit for future infringements, mirroring the rate set by the jury. Apple had said future royalties should be zero, or else no more than 19 cents per unit.

Apple and VirnetX did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In afternoon trading, VirnetX shares were up 54 cents, or 10.8%, at $5.63.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, and VirnetX, based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada, have battled in patent litigation for more than a decade.

Last March, Apple paid VirnetX $454 million after the US Supreme Court refused to hear the iPhone maker’s appeal in an earlier patent case.

In a Dec. 18 court filing, Apple said the latest award could boost its payout in both cases to $1.116 billion.

The case is VirnetX Inc v. Apple Inc, US District Court, Eastern District of Texas, No. 12-00855.



Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
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Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Gets an Update, Starts Sharing Antisemitic Posts

xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
xAI and Grok logos are seen in this illustration taken, February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it's taking down “inappropriate posts" made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Musk said Friday that Grok has been improved significantly, and users “should notice a difference.”

Since then, Grok has shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.

“Labeling truths as hate speech stifles discussion,” Grok said.

It also appeared to praise Hitler, according to screenshots of a post that has now apparently been deleted.

“We are aware of recent posts made by Grok and are actively working to remove the inappropriate posts,” the Grok account posted early Wednesday, without being more specific.

"Since being made aware of the content, xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X. xAI is training only truth-seeking and thanks to the millions of users on X, we are able to quickly identify and update the model where training could be improved.

Also Wednesday, a court in Türkiye ordered a ban on Grok after it spread content insulting to Turkish President and others.

The pro-government A Haber news channel reported that Grok posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and well-known personalities. Offensive responses were also directed toward modern Türkiye's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, other media outlets said.

That prompted the Ankara public prosecutor to file for the imposition of restrictions under Türkiye's internet law, citing a threat to public order. A criminal court approved the request early on Wednesday, ordering the country’s telecommunications authority to enforce the ban.

It's not the first time Grok's behavior has raised questions.

Earlier this year the chatbot kept talking about South African racial politics and the subject of “white genocide” despite being asked a variety of questions, most of which had nothing to do with the country. An “unauthorized modification” was behind the problem, xAI said.