14 DAY TRIAL // Internet technology software company VirnetX Holding Corporation has announced that, on February 12, 2014, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) denied Apple rehearing motion.
The USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board reportedly refused Apple’s “motions for rehearing of the decisions not to institute seven of its requested inter partes reviews (IPRs).”
According to the press release, “the Board had earlier found that Apple's petitions for inter partes review were not filed within the time limit imposed by statute.”
In filing its motions for rehearing, Apple told the Board that it had misunderstood its arguments, leading to an erroneous outcome. However, the Board assured the company that “it had properly considered Apple's arguments but found them to be without merit.”
The Board then refused Apple motion for a rehearing.
Kendall Larsen, VirnetX CEO and president, said, “We are pleased that the Board has denied Apple's motions for a rehearing and has reaffirmed its original decisions to deny Apple's petitions.”
“We have a high level of confidence in all of our dealings with the USPTO as well as the district and appellate courts,” added Larsen.
In January, the tech company filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas adding new claims to an existing patent infringement lawsuit against Apple Inc.
VirnetX alleged at the time that Apple’s newest devices employed redesigned VPN On Demand and Per App VPN features, which infringed VirnetX’s patents.
The firm’s suit includes many such claims and targets the iPhone 5, iPod touch 5th-generation, iPad 4th-generation, iPad mini, and a range of Macs.
Larsen said in January, “We contend that Apple continues to use our inventions in the majority of its products. We are confident that we will prevail in proving that Apple products, including the new products added to the suit, infringe on our inventions.”