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VirnetX

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VirnetX
NYSE: VHC
Russell 2000 Component
Founded1 January 2005 Edit this on Wikidata
Headquarters
308 Dorla Court, Suite 206 Zephyr Cove, Nevada
Key people
Kendall Larsen (CEO)[1]
Number of employees
20
SubsidiariesNational Research Corporation - Japan, Ltd. VirnetX Inc.

VirnetX (NYSE: VHC) is a publicly traded Internet security software and technology company based in Zephyr Cove, Nevada.[2] Founded in 2005,[3] its patent portfolio includes U.S. and international patents in areas such as DNS and network communication.

Since 2010, VirnetX has been in patent licensing and intellectual property litigation with companies, including Apple, Cisco, and Microsoft.[4][5][6][7]

History

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Robert Dunham Short and Victor Larson co-invented a protocol in 1998[8] that encrypts real-time audio and video transmissions, which was then sought by Apple for their FaceTime app.[9]

In 1999, Dr. Short, Edward Munger, Vic Larson, and Mike Williamson invented a protocol to automatically create hidden Internet connections using DNS.[10]

In December 2002, Short, Munger, Larson, Williamson, and Douglas Schmidt invented a method for assigning unique IP addresses to form secure connections with biometric verification.[11]

VirnetX was incorporated in 2005.[3]

In 2007, Short became Chief Scientist,[12] and the company went public on the American Stock Exchange in December of that year.[13]

In May 2010, Microsoft and VirnetX settled patent disputes for $200M.[14] The following month, Short took over as Chief Technology Officer (CTO).[12]

In 2014, Microsoft and VirnetX settled patent disputes over Skype technology for $23 million.[15] In their Apple case, VirnetX worked together with SAIC,[16] and was awarded $368 million in damages for FaceTime infringement.[17] That ruling was partially vacated in August 2014, but two patents were confirmed to be infringed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.[18]

In December 2014, VirnetX opened access to their Gabriel platform, which builds upon their patents, and is implemented as small to medium-sized business enterprise collaboration software.[19]

In February 2016, an East Texas jury unanimously ruled in federal court that Apple had willfully violated 13 VirnetX patents. The jury said Apple must pay VirnetX $625.6 million for infringing four of the patents, and the court was considering ongoing royalty rates and punitive damages.[20] The first retrial, conducted from September 26 to September 30, 2016, resulted in another unanimous jury verdict for VirnetX.[21] The verdict re-affirmed patent violations enabling Facetime and iMessage and awarded $439.7 million to VirnetX. The remaining two patents were tried separately.

In 2018, Apple was ordered to pay $502.6 million to VirnetX. That order was vacated in 2019, but Apple was still found by the jury to be infringing two patents.[22] In February 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court did not consider an appeal made by Apple.[23] The jury awarded VirnetX $502.8 million in 2020 after a separate jury determined that Apple's iPhones and iPads infringed patents related to virtual private networks.[24] Apple's request for a new trial was overturned in January 2021.[25]

In July 2020, VirnetX transferred the listing of its common stock from NYSE American to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).[26]

Victor Larson was appointed as CTO in 2021.[27] In March 2021, the patent and trial appeal board ruled that two of VirnetX's patents were invalid in its dispute with Apple.[28]

VirnetX Matrix, which secures private access to Internet applications and infrastructure, and War Room, a security video conferencing product, were both launched in 2022.[29] [30]

In March 2023, the city of Bridgeport, West Virginia, deployed VirnetX’s Matrix to secure internet-based applications and infrastructure after the city experienced a ransomware attack.[31] On March 31, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the 2018 verdict following the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board's cancellation of the patents that VirnetX had accused Apple of infringing.[32][33]

VirnetX announced a partnership with Samsung in May 2023 to resell Samsung’s digital display products, including the Samsung Interactive Pro, for hybrid workspaces using the VirnetX One family suite, including War Room and VirnetX Matrix.[34]

In March 2024, VirnetX and Samsung announced an extension of their partnership, working together to provide technology to scientifically document and analyze unidentified aerial phenomena for History Channel’s The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.[35][36]

Products

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VirnetX has developed products including VirnetX One, War Room, VirnetX Matrix and Gabriel Connection Technology.[37][38][39][40]

VirnetX One is a secure communication platform which utilizes Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to enable private, encrypted networks between user and devices.[41] The VirnetX One Security Platform secures HTTPS, HTTP, RDP, VNC, and SSH. VirnetX One is cross-platform and runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac, iOS, Android and Linux.[42]

War Room is a security product which validates and certifies access to select users, securing domains and authenticated devices prior to enabling access to a secure video conferencing platform.[43] The product is backed by over 194 patents to protect critical data.[30]

Launched in 2022, VirnetX Matrix was originally designed to protect and secure communications for the United States Intelligence Community. VirnetX’s Secure Domain Name Technology removes users’ public internet communications from the public domain, making applications protected by VirnetX Matrix only visible and accessible to authorized users and their authenticated devices[29][41][44]

Gabriel Connection Technology facilitates communications on Internet-based applications, such as instant messaging, Voice over IP, and file transfers, using secure domain names.[42][45]

References

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  1. ^ Stempel, Jonathan (September 16, 2014). "U.S. court throws out VirnetX $368 million patent award vs Apple". Reuters. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "VirnetX - Nevada Secretary of State". Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "VirnetX Holding Corporation". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  4. ^
  5. ^ "Company Interview: Kendall Larsen, VirnetX Holding Corporation". April 22, 2008.
  6. ^ Foley, Mary Jo. "Microsoft pays VirnetX $200 million to settle patent case". ZDNet.
  7. ^ "Apple Rebuffed by Supreme Court in $1 Billion VirnetX Dispute".
  8. ^ US7490151B2, Munger, Edward Colby; III, Robert Dunham Short & Larson, Victor et al., "Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request", issued 2009-02-10 
  9. ^ "Apple is Afraid of Inventors, Not Patent Trolls". IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law. March 21, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request". Google Patents. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  11. ^ "Agile network protocol for secure communications with assured system availability". Google Patents. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Dr Robert Dunham Short III". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  13. ^ "Form S-1". U.S. SEC. April 29, 2008. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  14. ^ Shaun Nichols (May 18, 2010). "Microsoft pays US$200m to settle patent case". CRN. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  15. ^ Armental, Richard. "VirnetX, Microsoft Settle Patent Dispute Over Skype". wsj.
  16. ^ Smith, Gina. "Who is VirnetX? Apple To Pay $368 Million to IBM? NSA? CIA? Who?". A New Domain. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
  17. ^ Bell, Killian. "U.S. Court Orders Apple To Pay $439.7 Million Damages For FaceTime Patent Infringement". TechCrunch. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  18. ^ "United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Virnetx, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 22, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  19. ^ "VirnetX Opens Gabriel Beta Program". VirnetX.
  20. ^ Joe Mullin, Jury: Apple must pay $626 million to patent troll VirnetX, Ars Technica, February 4, 2016
  21. ^ Andrew Liptak, [1], The Verge, October 1, 2016
  22. ^ Lyons, Kim (October 31, 2020). "Apple ordered to pay VirnetX $502.8 million in patent trial". The Verge. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "Supreme Court rejects appeal in Apple's $1-billion dispute over FaceTime patents". Los Angeles Times. February 24, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
  24. ^ Christopher Yasiejko; Laurel Brubaker Calkins (October 30, 2020). "Apple Must Pay VirnetX $503 Million in Security-Patent Trial". Bloomberg. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  25. ^ "Apple fails to overturn VirnetX patent verdict, could owe over $1.1 billion". Reuters. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  26. ^ "VirnetX Announces Voluntary Transfer Listing of its Common Stock to the New York Stock Exchange". Security Wire. July 20, 2020. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  27. ^ "Dr Victor Larson". Bloomberg. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  28. ^ "VirnetX Falls as Appeals Court Denies Bid to Nix Patent Ruling". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
  29. ^ a b "VirnetX Launches Matrix to Secure Internet Applications and Services". CIO Influence. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  30. ^ a b Tim Keary (March 1, 2022). "VirnetX releases secure conferencing solution to thwart 'Zoom bombing'". Venture Beat. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  31. ^ "VirnetX Holding Corporation Announces Deployment of Virnetx Matrix™ by City of Bridgeport". Market Screener. March 29, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  32. ^ Brittain, Blake (March 30, 2023). "Apple wins U.S. appeal over patents in $502 mln VirnetX verdict". Reuters. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  33. ^ Dobberstein, Laura. "Decade-old patent lawsuit goes Apple's way". The Register. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
  34. ^ Bruce Christian (May 15, 2023). "VirnetX Collaborates with Samsung". RWS. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  35. ^ "Skinwalker Ranch partners with Samsung, VirnetX in command center". Digital Signage Today. March 27, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  36. ^ Karen Stealey (March 18, 2024). "Skinwalker Ranch's mysteries unveiled through Samsung tech". Samsung. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  37. ^ "VHC.N - | Stock Price & Latest News | Reuters". www.reuters.com. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  38. ^ "Check out VirnetX Holding Corp's stock price (VHC) in real time". CNBC. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  39. ^ Christian, Bruce (May 15, 2023). "VirnetX Collaborates with Samsung". Remote Work Solutions. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  40. ^ "VHC Taking Samsung Displays Into War Rooms". Display Daily. August 22, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  41. ^ a b "VirnetX launches Matrix to secure internet applications and services". CIO. April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  42. ^ a b "APA's Cybersecurity Platinum Suite powered by Virnetx". Above PAR Advisors. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  43. ^ "Secure Video Conferencing". Solution Synergy. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  44. ^ "Stealth Network Access Security". Solution Synergy. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  45. ^ "VIRNETX HOLDING CORP". TD Cowen. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
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