Apple ordered to pay $368 million in patent case

Apple has been ordered to pay $368 million for patent infringement in its use of Facetime, an application that allows for video calls on mobile devices, the plaintiff said Wednesday.

Security software firm VirnetX said in a statement the jury in a federal court in Texas ordered the payment "for infringing four VirnetX patents" and that the court will hear post-trial motions in the upcoming weeks.

"We are extremely pleased with the outcome of our suit with Apple," said Kendall Larsen, VirnetX chief executive and president. "This victory further establishes the importance of our patent portfolio."

VirnetX alleged in its suit that Apple should have paid a licensing fee to use the technologies allowing for secure connections using Facetime.

Apple did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

VirnetX had sued Apple, Cisco Systems and others in 2010 for patent infringement. It alleged Apple's iPhone and iPod Touch infringed on the patents, which allow a type of virtual private network for secure mobile video calls.

(c) 2012 AFP