VirnetX vs Apple: The Full Details

Like I stated before, VirnetX is what people call a Patent Troll, which by definition means "a person or company that attempts to enforce patent rights against accused infringers far beyond the patent's actual value or contribution to the prior art. Patent trolls often do not manufacture products or supply services based upon the patents in question." Aka, a company that makes money just by suing other companies (like Apple, Microsoft, and Cisco) and honestly do nothing else besides that.

Apple has been a big target for VirnetX starting in 2012 when they sued them over VPN (virtual private network) patents in their FaceTime software. At the time they were forced to pay $368million in infringement damages but Apple appealed the case and won on a technicality. After the appeal the jury saw no direct linkage between Apple’s "infringed" FaceTime software and their sales of iPads/iPhones that used the software. But VirnetX didn't give up and came back harder this time around. They started out with the accusations of patents numbered 7,490,151 and 6,502,135 in which the court forced apple to pay an initial $335 million. However, after further investigation they concluded that patents numbered 7,921,211 and 7,418,504 were also being violated through Apple's FaceTime software and Apple was then forced to pay an additional $291 million in damages. Rounding out the total to a whopping $625 million from patent infringements. However, that money is just a drop in the bucket for Apple, a company who's last quarterly revenue of $74.6 billion. They could pay VirnetX this money and go about their days like nothing even happened. But Apple doesn't want to stand for these, amongst other, patent trolls anymore. They are going to appeal yet again under the claims that the four patents at stake have been declared invalid. They are doing this to make a statement that these companies are doing nothing but harm to the technology industry and must be stopped. Patent trolls are prohibiting and slowing down technological process through their stringent ideals and money driven mindset.

Apple vs VirnetX Lawsuit (round 2)

The case between VirnetX (a specialized holding company) and Apple (you know who they are) is the biggest news in the patent world right now. For the second time in five years VirnetX is suing Apple for infringement on four of their eighty patents, which were bought from the Science Applications International Corporation. The patents are as follows:

1)  U.S. Patent #6,502,135 (“135 patent”): Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability

2)  U.S. Patent #7,418,504 (“504 patent”): Agile network protocol for secure communications using secure domain names

3)  U.S. Patent #7,490,151 (“151 patent”): Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request

4)   U.S. Patent #7,921,211 (“211 patent”): Agile network protocol for secure communications using secure domain names

Basically, these four patents are based around "real time communication" which is used in Apple software like FaceTime and iMessage. And unfortunately for Apple (but very fortunately for VirnetX), an East Texas Jury finally came to the conclusion that Apple was guilty of the infringement allegations and are now being forced to pay VirnetX $625 million in damages. A whole $102 million more than VirnetX originally wanted. On top of that, after their win, VirnetX’s shares more than doubled. 

To put this in perspective, VirnetX is a company of fourteen employees and work out of an office where they only pay $5,000 per month. So this is a ginormous win for them. In the past, these patent trollers have sued and won against Microsoft for $200 million in 2010 and then again, filed another lawsuit against the company in 2015. But they lost a patent case it brought against Cisco last year, so they went back to the big boys at Apple for another round. 

World Changing Invention: The Green Revolution

One of the key inventions that truly changed the world and made a huge impact was the Green Revolution. If it wasn't for Norman Borlaug's incredible innovations starting the 1930's, Thomas Malthus' prediction of our population's fate would be a real possibility to us. Malthus' theory proposed that the human population grows at an exponential rate (which is true) while food production only grows at an arithmetic rate (which WAS true). With that idea in mind, he stated that there was no way that food production would be able to withstand this population growth leaving the world in a state which would make it impossible for us to survive. He said that this would lead to either mass starvation or mass disease. But this awful idea can be put aside (for now at least) all thanks to Borlaug and his contributions.

The Green Revolution was basically a technological transfer of the agriculture world that increased production worldwide, effecting the developing world in a hugely impactful way. This transition saw the wide acceptance and use of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, new and improved management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, GMO's, more efficient machines, and much much more. As this transition occurred agriculture production boomed and Malthus' hypothesis and threat began to drift away as our world came into a time where food security was a much bigger possibility. This revolution is credited to saving over a billion people from starvation, which is why Borlaug truly earned his Nobel Peace Prize.

Top Ten Inventions Revised

Hi all! After reading all of your posts and different interpretations of what you believed were the top 10 inventions of all time I did some thinking. So here, after some hard thought, is my new and improved list... Thank you all for the inspiration and ideas!

10) REFRIGERATORS: Around 1840 a very high tech version of the icebox was invented. Having the ability to store foods and meats for extended periods of time has completely changed the lifestyles of people all over the world. It may seem simple but it truly changed public health levels dramatically. Decreasing people’s chance of getting diseases due to spoiled foods.

9) CONTRACEPTIVES & FEMALE SANITARY PRODUCTS:

The Introduction of condoms and birth control ignited a sexual revolution in the world and allowed for individuals to practice safe sex and protect themselves from STI’s and pregnancy. The lower rate of pregnancy has also lead to higher standard of living for families overall. Sanitary products such as pads and tampons weren’t introduced until the 1920s in America and without ways of controlling a woman’s menstrual cycle, like 70% of Indian woman, it leads to reproductive diseases and can cause long lasting harm.

8) PLUMBING INFRASTRUCTURE: Before the 1700s when plumbing was introduced people would use the streets as a waste sight. This total lack of sanitation was the perfect environment to spread disease through rats and vermin. The Black Plague alone killed between 75 million to 200 million people, including 1/3 of Europe’s population. So if it wasn’t for the sanitary system we could still be facing diseases that are easily avoidable. 

7) AIRPLANE: In 1903 the Wright brothers invented the plane and I am forever thankful for that. Aside from completely changing foreign trade and relation it has allowed me to travel to beautiful countries all over the world and experience cultures I wouldn’t have been able to experience before.

6) Writing Systems- The first writing system was created around 3200 BC in Mesopotamia, and from that point, our world was changed significantly. Before there was a writing system, information would be passed on through word of mouth and folklore. If it wasn’t for writing systems we would know nothing about our world’s rich history and I wouldn’t be able to be doing this presentation!

5) PRINTING PRESS: Gutenberg’s printing press in 1436 exponentially sped up the process of creating books which helped the world of education catapult forward to the place we are today (Shout out to #6 for helping us get to this point at all). It also was a huge contributor to the spreading of religion (most notably the bible). Nowadays its used most frequently for things like Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray but we’ll just try and ignore that (sorry Gutenberg).

4) VACCINES AND ANTIBIOTICS: The life expectancy nowadays compared to years ago is a testament itself. If it wasn’t for the medicines and vaccines we have today I would certainly be dead for sure. I’ve had appendicitis, pneumonia, chronic asthma, and numerous other things that modern medicine has saved me from.

3) ELECTRICITY: To put it literally, we would still be in the Dark Ages without electricity. The world we live in today would not exist without it. We have become more efficient due to this invention and has led to the invention of uncountable other things that have bettered our lives. Without electricity many modern day inventions would not exist. 

2) THE GREEN REVOLUTION: Between the 1930s and 60s Norman Borlaug led the initiative into a new world of agriculture. Things such as GMOs, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, modern management techniques, synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and many more devises were introduced. This movement was credited to saving millions of people all over the world from starvation.

1) INTERNET: Our entire globe is connected over this non-physical entity and that is insane to me. We get and send information instantly and everyone knows what’s going on in the world. Knowledge can be obtained faster than every thought imaginable. The whole world literally at our fingertips, any question you have can be answered in a matter of seconds. With the use of the internet we’ve made ourselves more efficient and accessible. Also Netflix…

My Top 10 Inventions in History

10) REFRIGERATORS: Around 1840 a very high tech version of the icebox was invented. Having the ability to store foods and meats for extended periods of time has completely changed the lifestyles of people all over the world. It also created a whole new industry for retail grocery stores and products made specifically for fridges.

9) CONTRACEPTIVES & FEMALE SANITARY PRODUCTS:

The Introduction of condoms and birth control ignited a sexual revolution in the world and allowed for individuals to practice safe sex and protect themselves from STI’s and pregnancy. The lower rate of pregnancy has also lead to higher standard of living for families overall. In terms of sanitary products, it wasn’t until the 1920’s that they were introduced to America. Without ways of controlling a woman’s menstrual cycle, like 70% of Indian woman, it leads to reproductive diseases and can cause long lasting harm.

8) SMARTPHONES: Yes, many people believe that smartphones are “ruining my generation” but even they can’t deny the insane impacts these phones have on our day-to-day life. The whole world literally at our fingertips, any question you have can be answered in a matter of seconds. With the use of smartphones we’ve made ourselves more efficient and accessible. Plus iPhone games are great, lets be honest.

7) AIRPLANE: In 1903 the Wright brothers invented the plane and I am forever thankful for that. Aside from completely changing foreign trade and relation it has allowed me to travel to beautiful countries all over the world and experience cultures I wouldn’t have been able to experience before.

6) THE ENGINE: Invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712 he sparked the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which completely transformed us into the world we live in today. However, the steam engine was the beginning of fossil fuel emission and has been insanely impactful on our lives and has put the future health of this planet in danger.

5) PRINTING PRESS: Gutenberg’s printing press in 1436 exponentially sped up the process of creating books which helped the world of education catapult forward to the place we are today. It also was a huge contributor to the spreading of religion (most notable the bible). Nowadays it used most frequently for things like Twilight and 50 Shades of Gray but we’ll just try and ignore that (sorry Gutenberg).

4) VACCINES AND ANTIBIOTICS: The life expectancy nowadays compared to years ago is a testament itself. If it wasn’t for the medicines and vaccines we have today I would certainly be dead for sure. I’ve had appendicitis, pneumonia, chronic asthma, and numerous other things that modern medicine has saved me from.

3) ELECTRICITY: To put it literally, we would still be in the Dark Ages without electricity. The world we live in today would not exist without it. We have become more efficient due to this invention and has led to the invention of uncountable other things that have bettered our lives.

2) THE WHEEL: I know this is a classic but it truly is one of the greatest inventions in history. The wheel gave us the ability to transport goods, travel, and facilitate agriculture. Its crazy how our lives have changed due to just a circular thing. Yes, we do use it for stupid hoverboard things today, but please don’t let that make you appreciate the wheel any less.

1) INTERNET: Our entire globe is connected over this non-physical entity and that is insane to me. We get and send information instantly and everyone knows what’s going on in the world. Knowledge can be obtained faster than every thought imaginable. Also Netflix…

About me

Hi! My name is Harley Williamson and I’m a second year student here at Cal. I lived most of my formative years (6-18) living in London where I attended the American School in London. Because I lived in London I became a huge fan of Rugby and still follow it to this day. I’m also incredibly passionate about the environment, I was president of our ecology club which included a month long fully immersion backpack trip through areas of South Africa, including the Imfolozi Game Reserve and the Drakensburg Mountains. Through this passion I decided to study Environmental Economics and Policy here. With the hope of one day becoming involved in Environmental Law and Policy. I am incredibly interested in taking IEOR 190G this semester (Spring 2016) with Professor Lavian for a multitude of reasons. First of all, I am pursuing a Certificate in Entrepreneurship Technology from the College of Engineering and this class helps me achieve this certificate. Secondly, I want to be completely competent in the ups and downs of patenting because the way Environmental technology has been progressing over the past years its obvious that patenting will be essential to those individuals wanting to change our impact on the world. And if I had the skills to help them achieve these patents then it would be a great step towards a greener future.