In Patent troll on the verge of winning 1 percent of iPhone revenue, Joe Mullin reports Apple is still unsuccessfully fighting an 0.98% royalty rate to be paid to VirnetX for patent infringement by FaceTime and VPN On Demand.
In 2012, Apple lost and was ordered to pay $368 million (which Mullin says could be an annual cost) and lost its inter partes review case on June 5, 2014, because the judges held that RPX which engaged a law firm to file the petition was determined to be a proxy for Apple which was barred from filing the IPR petition more than one year after the infringement complaint. See PTAB decision.
The PTAB determined Apple was the real-party-in interest behind the RPX petitions and denied them as time-barred. Contrary to the requirements of 35 USC 315(b), the RPX petitions were filed more than 1 year after the date on which the real party in interest Apple was served with a complaint alleging patent infringement. Thus, the IPRs could not be instituted.
This article is worth reading for those considering using a third party as a proxy and highlights the risk of not filing an IPR petition timely after being sued.
Copyright © 2014 Robert Moll. All rights reserved.
