Patent 7490151

Litigation summary

Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.

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No PTAB proceedings on file. This patent has not been challenged through Inter Partes Review, Post-Grant Review, or Covered Business Method review at the USPTO. The absence is itself a signal — well-asserted patents eventually attract IPRs.

Cases on file (2)

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Specific litigation cases in our database that name US patent 7490151. The free-form analysis below may also discuss cases beyond this list.

Litigation summary

Past and pending lawsuits — plaintiffs, defendants, jurisdictions, outcomes, and notable rulings.

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US Patent 7490151, titled "Establishment of a secure communication link based on a domain name service (DNS) request," has been involved in significant litigation across various US courts and before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). VirnetX Inc. is the current assignee and has generally acted as the plaintiff in infringement suits and the patent owner in PTAB proceedings. [cite: Original Assignee, Current Assignee]

Here is a list of known litigation involving US patent 7490151:

I. US District Court Litigation

  • Case Number: 6:13-cv-00211

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.)
    • Jurisdiction: Eastern District of Texas
    • Filing Date: February 26, 2013
    • Outcome/Current Status: Consolidated under Case 6:12-CV-00855-LED; earlier, Apple's motions to lift stay of proceedings and vacate this case were granted by the USCAFC on February 25, 2015. The court then consolidated this civil action under 6:12-CV-00855-LED due to substantial overlap.

  • Case Number: 6:13-cv-00351

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Microsoft Corporation
    • Jurisdiction: Eastern District of Texas
    • Filing Date: April 22, 2013
    • Outcome/Current Status: Dismissed with prejudice.

  • Case Number: 6:12-cv-00855

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Apple Inc.
    • Jurisdiction: Eastern District of Texas
    • Filing Date: November 6, 2012
    • Outcome/Current Status: The Federal Circuit initially affirmed that Apple's VPN On Demand feature infringed claims of US 6,502,135 and US 7,490,151 in 2019 and remanded for damages. Subsequently, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found both patents unpatentable, a decision affirmed by the Federal Circuit (in cases 20-2271 and 20-2272). As a result, the district court's judgment was vacated, and the case was remanded with instructions to dismiss it as moot, as VirnetX lost its cause of action. Decided: March 31, 2023.

  • Case Number: 6:10-cv-00417

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Cisco Systems, Inc.
    • Jurisdiction: Eastern District of Texas
    • Filing Date: August 11, 2010
    • Outcome/Current Status: Dismissed with prejudice. This case was also referenced as "Apple I" and involved VirnetX, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., et al.

II. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Litigation (Inter Partes Review - IPR)

(For all PTAB cases, VirnetX Inc. is the Patent Owner.)

  • Case Number: IPR2016-00167

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Not specified in available search results.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision.

  • Case Number: IPR2016-00063

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Apple Inc.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Petition filed October 26, 2015.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision. The Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's finding of unpatentability for patents including US 7,490,151 in related CAFC cases (20-2271, 20-2272).

  • Case Number: IPR2015-01047

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Apple Inc. (seeking joinder to this IPR)
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Final Written Decision.

  • Case Number: IPR2015-00187

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Not specified in available search results.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not Instituted - Procedural.

  • Case Number: IPR2014-00610

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Microsoft Corp.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Petition filed April 10, 2014.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Settlement.

  • Case Number: IPR2014-00173

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Not specified in available search results.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not Instituted - Procedural.

  • Case Number: IPR2013-00354

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc. and Science Application International Corporation
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Not explicitly named in available search results, but challenging VirnetX Inc.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: A document was filed December 13, 2013.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not Instituted - Procedural.

  • Case Number: IPR2013-00376

    • Plaintiff (Patent Owner): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant (Petitioner): Not specified in available search results.
    • Jurisdiction: PTAB
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Settlement.

III. US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) Litigation

  • Case Number: 19-1050

    • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in available search results, but related to VirnetX Inc. v. Apple Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Apple Inc. (Defendant-Appellant)
    • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • Filing Date: Document filed February 1, 2019.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not explicitly stated in available search results.

  • Case Number: 21-1672

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Apple Inc.
    • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Decided: March 31, 2023. The Federal Circuit vacated the district court's judgment (from 6:12-cv-00855) and remanded with instructions to dismiss the case as moot, because the underlying patents (including US 7,490,151) were found unpatentable by the PTAB and affirmed by the Federal Circuit in related cases (20-2271, 20-2272).

  • Case Number: 20-2271

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Mangrove Partners Master Fund
    • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Decided: March 30, 2023. Affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision that patents, including US 7,490,151, were unpatentable.

  • Case Number: 20-2272

    • Plaintiff(s): VirnetX Inc.
    • Defendant(s): Mangrove Partners Master Fund
    • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Decided: March 30, 2023. Affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's decision that patents, including US 7,490,151, were unpatentable.

IV. US Supreme Court Litigation

  • Case Number: 23-315

    • Plaintiff(s): Not specified in available search results.
    • Defendant(s): Not specified in available search results.
    • Jurisdiction: U.S. Supreme Court
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in available search results.

  • Case Number: 19-832

    • Plaintiff(s): Not specified in available search results.
    • Defendant(s): Not specified in available search results. (Unified Patents filed an amicus curiae brief in Apple Inc. v. Qualcomm Incorporated, case 19-832, which might be related but direct parties for US7490151 are not specified.)
    • Jurisdiction: U.S. Supreme Court
    • Filing Date: Not specified in available search results.
    • Outcome/Current Status: Not specified in available search results.

For the following CAFC cases, specific plaintiff(s), defendant(s), filing dates, and detailed outcomes directly tied to US 7490151 were not explicitly provided in the available search results beyond their listing on Unified Patents:

  • 18-1197
  • 17-1383
  • 23-1809
  • 23-1765
  • 13-1489
  • 14-1395
  • 17-1368
  • 22-2234

Generated 5/29/2026, 8:47:44 PM