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VirnetX flings second patent infringement sueball at Microsoft

Claims Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 use VPN tech

VirnetX is hoping to scoop up a brace of lawsuit wins against Microsoft, after it filed a second patent infringement claim against the company yesterday.

On Tuesday, Redmond was ordered to pay VirnetX nearly $106m after a US jury in Texas ruled that Microsoft "willfully" used the firm's virtual private network (VPN) tech in products including Windows XP, Windows Vista and Office.

Now, buoyed by its victory against the software giant, VirnetX has once again aimed its legal guns at Microsoft's Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms, alleging that those operating systems violate the same patents.

"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 VirnetX president and CEO Kendall Larsen.

His company filed a complaint in the Tyler Division of the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of US patents 6,502,135 and 7,188,180 on Wednesday, just one day after VirnetX won its first battle against Microsoft.

MS, for its part, said earlier this week it would appeal the award and denied that Microsoft products had infringed VirnetX patents.

SeattlePI, which was first to report VirnetX's second legal punch-up with Microsoft, said the company didn't include Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the original June 2008 lawsuit because the OS wasn't released until October 2009.

"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," Microsoft legal flack Kevin Kutz told SeattlePI.

"Moreover, we believe those patents are invalid. We will challenge VirnetX's claims." ®

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