VirnetX Files New ITC Patent Complaint V. Apple

Los Angeles – Internet security software and technology company VirnetX Holding Corp. said Monday that it has refiled its Section 337 patent infringement complaint against Apple Inc. with the U.S. International Trade Commission over wireless security technology.

Apple has engaged in unfair trade practices by the importation, sale for importation, and sale after importation of certain devices with secure communication capabilities that infringe one or more claims of VirnetX’s U.S. Patent Number 8,051,181, VirnetX says. The accused products include the latest iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macintosh computers.

VirnetX is now bringing the complaint jointly with Science Applications International Corp., which sold VirnetX part of its patent portfolio in 2006. SAIC had to be included to remove a procedural standing issue that was identified as the reason for dismissal of VirnetX’s previous complaint, VirnetX said.

VirnetX has asked the ITC to institute an investigation into Apple’s allegedly infringing imports and ultimately issue an exclusion order to bar importation of those Apple products. The company is also seeking a cease and desist order to stop further sales and other domestic commercial activities of infringing Apple products that have already been imported.

The ITC investigation is expected to formally commence on or about October 13, and the case will likely be tried in the second half of 2013.

“We feel confident that our re-filing satisfies all previous ITC issues,” VirnetX CEO and President Kendall Larsen said in a statement. “We now look forward to our case schedule and assignment of an Administrative Law Judge. We believe the merits of our complaint are strong and substantial.”

The ‘181 patent, which issued on November 1, 2011, is titled “Method for establishing secure communication link between computers of virtual private network.”

Initially, a secure communication mode of communication is enabled at a first computer without a user entering any cryptographic information for establishing the secure communication mode of communication, according to the patent abstract. Then, a secure communication link is established between the first computer and a second computer over a computer network based on the enabled secure communication mode of communication.

The secure communication link is a virtual private network communication link over the computer network in which one or more data values that vary according to a pseudo-random sequence are inserted into each data packet, the patent abstract says.