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VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7

By | March 18, 2010, 10:29am PDT

Summary: Just days after winning Round 1 of its patent-infringement case against Microsoft, VirnetX has filed another patent-infringement case against the Redmondians. This time, VirnetX is taking aim at Windows 7.

Just days after winning Round 1 of its patent-infringement case against Microsoft, VirnetX has filed another patent-infringement case against the Redmondians. This time, VirnetX is taking aim at Windows 7.

The new case, which came to light on March 18, again alleges that Microsoft is using VirnetX’s virtual private networking (VPN) patents without paying for their use. VirnetX’s original case against Microsoft, filed in 2007, cited Windows Server 2003, XP, Vista, Live Communications Server, Windows Messenger, Office Communicator and various versions of Office as infringing on two of VirnetX’s patents. The new pleading focuses on Windows 7, claiming it infringes on these same patents.

Kevin Kutz, Director of Public Affairs, said Microsoft hadn’t yet seen VirnetX’s new claim.

“While we can’t comment specifically about the new complaint because we have not been served, Microsoft respects intellectual property, and we believe our products do not infringe the patents involved.  Moreover, we believe those patents are invalid.  We will challenge VirnetX’s claims.”

A Texas jury on March 16 recommended Microsoft pay VirnetX $105.75 million for willfully infringing on two VirnetX networking patents. Microsoft officials said they are appealing that ruling.

McKool Smith, the law firm representing VirnetX is the same one that represented i4i, which won a $200-million-plus patent-infringement verdict against Microsoft. Judge Leonard Davis, the same judge who presided over the i4i case, was the judge overseeing the VirnetX case, as well.

VirnetX, a subsidiary of VirnetX Holdings, is “focused on commercializing a patent portfolio for securing real-time communications over the Internet,” explains the company in its November 10-Q.

Update: I just received more on VirnetX’s new suit, which it filed on March 17, 2010. Here’s VirnetX’s official statment:

VirnetX “filed a complaint in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,502,135 and 7,188,180 by Microsoft’s Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 software products.”

“This is a tactical and procedural post-trial action to ensure and protect our property rights as we proceed to final resolution with Microsoft,” said Kendall Larsen, VirnetX President and CEO.

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Topics

Patent, Microsoft Corp., VirnetX, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Mary Jo Foley

Mary Jo has covered the tech industry for more than 25 years for a variety of publications and Web sites, and is a frequent guest on radio, TV and podcasts, speaking about all things Microsoft-related. She is the author of Microsoft 2.0: How Microsoft plans to stay relevant in the post-Gates era (John Wiley & Sons, 2008).

Disclosure

Mary-Jo Foley

Freelance journalist/blogger Mary Jo Foley has nothing to disclose. WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). I do not own Microsoft stock or stock in any of its partners or competitors. I have no business ventures that are sponsored by/funded by Microsoft or any of its partners or competitors.

Biography

Mary-Jo Foley

Mary Jo Foley has covered the tech industry for 25 years for a variety of publications, including ZDNet, eWeek and Baseline. She has kept close tabs on Microsoft strategy, products and technologies for the past 10 years. In the late 1990s, she penned the award-winning "At The Evil Empire" column for ZDNet, and more recently the Microsoft Watch blog for Ziff Davis.

Got a tip? Send her an email with your rants, rumors, tips and tattles. Confidentiality guaranteed.

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RE: VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 10th Oct
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0 Votes
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Dodgy Judge
mrtufty@... 18th Mar 2010
Not to take issue with the American legal process,
but I'd suggest serious bias (and probably a
backhander) with this judge.

I think that while Microsoft may possibly infringe
on these patents, it's extremely unfair that the
same judge has been hearing all the patent
infringement cases; to rule out bias, a different
judge should be appointed to this case.
0 Votes
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True, some Judges are biased.
Great Kahuna 18th Mar 2010
They often show a bias in favor of victims. As expected, criminals think that's not fair.

C'est la vie.
0 Votes
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This judge has a terrible track record
LiquidLearner 18th Mar 2010
whatever you think of MS or however much you hate them, this particular court room as had some absolutely asinine verdicts.
0 Votes
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You can't conclude that he hates MS.
vanax 18th Mar 2010
Hi LiquidLearner,
He gave you absolutely no clue to make
you conclude that he hates MS; He merely
implied that MS is a criminal enterprise. I
think it is. It's a predatory monopoly, so
he's correct.

You overreached.
0 Votes
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You must be new here.
Rick_K 18th Mar 2010
Anyone that successfully sues Microsoft is evil. If Microsoft successfully
sues anyone the other company is evil. The judge obviously is biased,
when he made the statement that Microsoft willfully infringed,
because we all know that Microsoft respects other people?s IP. Wow I
actually typed that, without falling out of my chair. happy
0 Votes
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another uninformed idiot...
rbslack@... 20th Mar 2010
why dont you look at he holdings of the judge and youll see that there is not only a conflict of interest ther but his rulings are reached with out the benifit of either supporting fact of even bothering to look as the evidence whit proves that not only is the Virnetx claim totaly bogus but it is contrived and premeditated as well. If MS has ay legal staff worth their salt the proof is readily available to not only suooort their own case bur there is more than enought evidentce to ensure success of a counter suite which could easily bankrupt virnetx but hopefully get this idiot judge disbarred as well.
0 Votes
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What? You mean the judge...
zkiwi 19th Mar 2010
Keeps on finding the guilty guilty, despite their earnest claiming of their innocence?

Or is this judge more in the mold of making rulings and then they're overturned? If that's the case, then judge is not great etc. If not, you're just whining.
0 Votes
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this judge doesn't know the difference between guilty or innocent
rbslack@... 20th Mar 2010
not only is he currently under investigation by the justice department for rulings based on his own personal gain but he is also being investigated for crimes againt the us judicial system...which at this time I have been asked not to elaborate on.
0 Votes
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Kahuna, this is civil litigation
CrashPad 19th Mar 2010
Criminal code is not written yet for "Patent infringement" you idiot.
0 Votes
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in this case..
rbslack@... 20th Mar 2010
this judege not nly has a lack of knowledge in the law but is all so showing a buas in favor of a company which it is publically available that he/she ows controling stock in. In other words her verdicts on both cases should be thrown out especially simce the MS patents far predate the patents placed after the fact by this scamming company.
0 Votes
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I wonder how much..
lenohere 18th Mar 2010
the lawyer that is representing the company and the judge handling the case is getting out of this. Same 2 for 2 has to have a nice kickback somewhere and if the judge already thinks you are guilty once will have the same notion before another trial begins. No way I see impartial and Fair here..
0 Votes
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If you have proof...
Rick_K 18th Mar 2010
Same 2 for 2 has to have a nice kickback somewhere and if the judge
already thinks you are guilty once will have the same notion before
another trial begins. No way I see impartial and Fair here..

I would strongly suggest that you report that right away. If not, be
careful, as it is considered liable (and possibly slander) to make
accusation like that on a public forum.

If the evidence show that Microsoft willingly infringed, the judge is
irrelevant. The law determines the guilt, or innocence of the defendant.
0 Votes
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my god people... this is civil
CrashPad 19th Mar 2010
There is no guilt or innocence you boneheads. There is a preponderance of the evidence. Bunch of money grubing idiots and neantherthal in here.
0 Votes
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Go to law school, some of us have.
Cayble 19th Mar 2010
You dont know a bit of what your talking about, but you say it alot.

Thats a bad combo.
0 Votes
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No, the law does not determine it.
nick@... 19th Mar 2010
The judge's interpretation of the law determine's the guilt or innocence of the defendant.

Software patents are a crock as a whole. I believe companies deserveve just compensation, but way to many of the big companies, MS, Apple, IBM, Google are patenting things that never should get patented in the first place.

If there is a great conspiracy, it is between the patent attorneys and the patent office. They are the only ones benefitting from most of these issues.
0 Votes
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the problem is...
rbslack@... 20th Mar 2010
there has been no concrete evidence to prove that and according to publically released patent documents MS had the patent on this particular technology a full 2 years before VirnetX ever applied for their patent.
0 Votes
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Thank Bush Jr for this judge
jm2cent Updated - 18th Mar 2010
We should all thank Bush Jr. for this "un-bias" judge.


Leonard E. Davis (born 1948 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a district judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.[1] He was nominated by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2002 and was sworn in on May 15, 2002
0 Votes
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Can you not READ??
ArnoldZiffle 19th Mar 2010
To jm2cent and lenohere. Can you not read? The judge did not award anything... The article, not and opinion piece, clearly says that a jury, that's J.U.R.Y awarded damages of blah blah.

I am not defending this judge, personally I couldn't care less, however I will defend the truth of known facts, i.e. those elucidated in the article.

Try reading it again.
0 Votes
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Know the system -- the Judge matters
cuhulin 19th Mar 2010
The jury decided the amount of damages and certain facts. The legal decisions, like patent validity and whether the case got to the jury for damages, were made by the judge.
0 Votes
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Dodgy Microsoft
apexwm 19th Mar 2010
We need more judges like this to ensure the legal system is working correctly, for those like VirnetX. Microsoft has a long long history of taking what it wants, without giving anything back. It's time that they pay for their actions.
0 Votes
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Bad example
rbslack@... 20th Mar 2010
we do need reliable jusges to help ensure the legal system works as it should. But , a crooked jusge such a s this one and a tieving company lke VirnetX are not the champios I would choose for such a cause.
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RE: VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7
Loverock Davidson 18th Mar 2010
Darn patent trolls, just let Microsoft be. I hope VirnetX loses this case and Microsoft counter-sues them.
0 Votes
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They won't be able to counter.
storm14k 18th Mar 2010
Their lawyers are too busy defragging their Windows boxes to put together a case. When they finish it will be time for the yearly reinstalls. There just isn't enough time to do any real business while using Windows.
0 Votes
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The problem I saw was that they were busy
GuidingLight 18th Mar 2010
attempting to get something, anything to work on their computers.

The version I glimpsed them running was called "Ubuntu"?
  • Flagged
0 Votes
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The newly exploited version?
Loverock Davidson 18th Mar 2010
You know the same ubuntu that has a huge gaping hole in it and is the top story on zdnet.
  • Flagged
0 Votes
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Where are the exploits?
Great Kahuna 18th Mar 2010
Show us.
0 Votes
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You mean that 1% ?
still not nice 19th Mar 2010
My oh my, what a small world. A high profile legal team using Ubuntu.

Imagine that. DimLight actually saw orange...

lol...
  • Flagged
0 Votes
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Yearly reinstalls?
Great Kahuna 18th Mar 2010
You're too optimistic. Considering the volume of documents they have to look at I'd say they have to reinstall windows every two or three months.
0 Votes
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When last did you have to reinstall Windows for having many word docs?
andrej770 18th Mar 2010
Your system is really corrupted if you have to reinstall just because you have a lot of word docs. Its not a MS issue at that point. Its an issue between the keyboard and the back of the chair. LOL
0 Votes
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lol
bmonster 19th Mar 2010
Well, if the other side is using Linux...then they are wasting an equal amount of time waiting for OpenOffice to open a file.
0 Votes
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Not until...
still not nice 19th Mar 2010
...I finish defragging.

That should take...umm...another 6 months...
  • Flagged
0 Votes
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Now Microsoft are doomed...
zkiwi 18th Mar 2010
You really should not make declarations in favour of Microsoft. Pretty much every time you do, they end up being screwed.
0 Votes
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Message has been deleted.
Axsimulate Updated - 22nd Mar 2010
0 Votes
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Let's hit the cash cow again, and see what pops out...
Cylon Centurion 18th Mar 2010
NT
0 Votes
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They may feel they have a friend in this judge.
GuidingLight 18th Mar 2010
I do not see why companies do not petition to have cases like these moved to a different venue in another state.

It does seems like many of these software lawsuits are filed in the state of Texas.
0 Votes
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won't be able to counter
medezark@... 18th Mar 2010
Troll much storm14k?

What do you want people to use as an alternative? Apple, Linux?? Each has it's issues.
0 Votes
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I know a guy that will make it all go away for $5K
No_Ax_to_Grind 18th Mar 2010
wink
0 Votes
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Was thinking the same thing...
Fark 18th Mar 2010
The guy might charge for airfare...
0 Votes
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RE: VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7
Lisa4791 18th Mar 2010
The company was created to sue Microsoft in an effort to force them to purchase the company so the owners can retire rich.

They guy sitting next to me was tipped to buy the stock by an insider so he can make a ton of money, too. The company intends to keep suing Microsoft and will only file a suit here or there to make it look legit but they won't pursue them.

If the company was truly trying to protect their copyrights, they would have sued all of the companies at once and not just Microsoft.

Microsoft can will this if they subpeona the right peoples email account, phone records and someone start checking out stock purchases vs connections to owners.
0 Votes
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When I see the word "holdings"
Carrion 18th Mar 2010
In a name, I'm automatically suspicious. This company probably has no products, they just create bogus patents and then sue for infringement. You'll notice the case was filed in Texas, that's another clue...
0 Votes
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1 for catching that
crazydanr@... 19th Mar 2010
I noticed the same thing and came to the same conclusion. I would have a much different attitude if this was a company that actually wrote software, and was selling a product, and MS "borrowed" it.

It just sounds like another bunch of litigious weasels trying to work the system over. We seem to have a lot of those lately.
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RE: VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7
ITOdeed 18th Mar 2010
These companies should leave Microsoft alone! After all, Microsoft has NEVER stolen anybody's code. wink
0 Votes
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I'm sure
Carrion 18th Mar 2010
Virnetx had code to steal...
0 Votes
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Interesting.
matthew_maurice 18th Mar 2010
VirnetX wins the first round and then immediately raises the
stakes by adding Win7 to the complaint. Granted it is new,
but it's not that new. If they thought Win 7 also violated
their patent, why not add it to the suit as soon as it was
released? The exceptionally public Beta of Win 7 would have
made determining the presence of patent-violating
technology easy. Something smells fishy here, Microsoft may
win this one.
0 Votes
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Possible motive.
Rick_K 18th Mar 2010
If Microsoft were force to license the IP they are infringing, it would cover
windows 7 and server 2008. Being that Microsoft is refusing to admit
their wrong doing this may just be a bargaining chip to encourage
Microsoft to just license the technology.
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Master Joe Says...The Real Guilty Party
MasterJoe 18th Mar 2010
You can sit there and claim that Microsoft is the one killing innovation these days. But, it is actually those who look to exploit the US laws and legal system, or those abroad. Look at the TomTom case. Microsoft lost. Why? Bias, perhaps? Look at the i4i case. Microsoft lost. Why? Bias, perhaps? Look at this case, and the VPN case by the same company. Microsoft is losing one, and may likely lose this one as well. Why? Bias, perhaps? Or, perhaps not. Maybe it is a bunch of non-technical people making decisions and passing judgements on technical business, based on what some lawyer (who we all know are of the highest ethical standards and morals) tells them. Or, what they see in the news, hear on the radio, read in the blogs, etc. Everywhere you turn, you see Microsoft is evil this, and Microsoft is the worst and most greedy corporation ever that. Really? Interestingly enough, I kind of think Apple occupies that spot now, or Google (maybe a tie between the two). Does that mean Microsoft is squeaky clean? Absolutely not. We all know they have a bit of a checkered past. but, does that mean they should be continuously punished by their previous mistakes again and again? No, and anyone who was in tha tposition wouldn't want that to happen to them either. You serve your time (or pay your fine), and then you move on. That's how it works. In any case, this is about one thing, and one thing only, just like the i4i case was. It's all about the money. Everyone looking to dip their hand into that oh so deep Microsoft honeypot (moneypot). We all know it. The question is who is actually interested enough in the real progression and innovation of technology moving forward to get rid of the ridiculous anti-Microsoft bias so many seem to carry to admit it? We will see.

--Master Joe
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Yes
Rick_K 18th Mar 2010
Everywhere you turn, you see Microsoft is evil this, and Microsoft is
the worst and most greedy corporation ever that. Really? Interestingly
enough, I kind of think Apple occupies that spot now, or Google
(maybe a tie between the two). Does that mean Microsoft is squeaky
clean? Absolutely not. We all know they have a bit of a checkered past.
but, does that mean they should be continuously punished by their
previous mistakes again and again?

As long as they continue to do the things, that have gotten them into
trouble; they should be punished. If you read the findings of facts, in
the cases, Microsoft has been found to have willfully infringed
these companies? patents. Willful infringement is different, than
accidental infringement. Willful shows intent, and should be punished
to the maximum extent. As for the rest of your comment, that is your
opinion. Opinion and fact are two distinctly different things. You have
also shown a bias against Apple, so your view is not logical, but based
on emotion.
0 Votes
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Rick your really starting to sound like....
CrashPad 19th Mar 2010
someone living vicariously through another life. Sad way to go. Seriously these patent infringement cases can be as broad and undefined as to make anything remotely simular may be considered an infringement.
Tone it down a bit. We are not talking serial killer stuff here, your venom is way overboard for the situation.
  • Flagged
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Master Joe Says...Past vs. Present
MasterJoe 19th Mar 2010
My judgements against Apple are due to things that they are doing right now. Look at the articles published on ZDNet alone, in the past six months. Look at Apple's methods for handling what they even just SUSPECT to be a security leak in a department. Look at their monopolization of the digital media delivery market with the iPod/iTunes duo. Look at their sensorship of content in the AppStore. Look at their vendor lock-in practices with the iPhone. The same vendor lock-in principles apply to the upcoming release of the iPad, the most locked down, useless device to come across the scanner in quite sometime. The Amazon Kindle is better, and I am no fan of that device, by any stretch.

As for the other part of your comment, this does not say that they DID wilfully infringe upon the patent, it says that this company is accusing them of doing so. There's a difference. In addition, I ask this question every time a patent lawsuit comes up, and every time I do, the question is ignored. Would you suggest to me that every single ruling ever handed down in the courts was accurate and legit? Would you say that no innocent person has ever gone to jail, or a guilty one ever walked free? If you think that, you really are dillusional, and there's no reason for this conversation to continue. The biggest problems in technology are largely caused by non-tech savvy people making tech decisions, whether it is budgets in a corporation, strategies for a web site or platform, or a legal case involving technology. Then, it just comes down to which side can better explain their side in plain English to the judge and/or jury, rather than who might actually be right or wrong. That's not to say it is always this way, but there is a strong chance of it in any of these cases.

--Master Joe
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Agreed entirely
apexwm 19th Mar 2010
I couldn't agree more. Key point that Microsoft willfully infringed upon the software patents. They have done this time and time again. This is only scratching the surface. It's amusing that Microsoft itself has quickly jumped up and sued others for infringing on its patents. So others have the right to do the same.

Personally, I think we should abolish software patents. They are evil and just encourage this behavior. There is so much duplicate effort out there for software now it's crazy. It would be amazing to see how much productivity could be brought about if software patents were not around.
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RE: VirnetX sues Microsoft over patents again, now taking aim at Windows 7
jackson1984-24316069205748857739440257893812 10th Oct
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