New York (AFP)
A Texas jury on Friday ordered Apple to pay $ 503 million to the company VirnetX, which had filed a complaint in 2012 for patent infringement against the computer giant.
About 600 million devices were affected, according to a legal document consulted by AFP.
The jury set the damages for VirnetX at 84 cents each.
Apple intends to appeal.
VirnetX, based in Nevada (south), bases its activity on the exploitation of its patent portfolio.
The company had accused Apple of not having paid it rights for certain technologies used in particular on the iPhone and the iPad and making it possible to secure Internet communications via the VPN on Demand tool.
The apple brand is not its first setback in this Texas jurisdiction, which has already ruled in favor of VirnetX to the tune of several hundred million dollars.
Apple said it was "disappointed" with the verdict "and plans to appeal, a spokesperson told AFP.
"This case has been going on for more than a decade, with patents which are not related to the heart of the operations and have been declared invalid by the patent office," he said.
"Files like this only hamper innovation and affect consumers," he added.
VirnetX did not immediately respond to AFP's requests.
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