https://tech.newstatesman.com/business/apple-loses-patent-appeal-virnetx-lawsuit > Apple has lost an appeal in the Supreme Court over an ongoing patent tussle with software developer VirnetX, as the tech giant seeks to avoid paying up to $1bn in damages. > The pain point in an arduous 10 year long legal battle is VirnetX’s pursuit of royalties from Apple for secure communications technology used in FaceTime and VPN programmes on devices including the iPhone, iPad and Macs.