VirnetX Adds a Patent to Its Apple Lawsuit

The headaches just keep coming for Apple (AAPL -0.35%).

Already beset by patent infringement claims from tiny networking tech company VirnetX (VHC 1.22%), Apple got hit with an add-on claim Tuesday morning. VirnetX has announced that it's been granted two patents from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office: Patent No. 8,504,696, for a "System and Method Employing an Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names," and Patent No. 8,504,697, for a "System and Method Employing an Agile Network Protocol for Secure Communications Using Secure Domain Names."

The company promptly filed papers with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleging that Apple's iPhone 5, fifth-generation iPod Touch, fourth-generation iPad, iPad Mini, and some Macintosh computers infringe the latter patent.

At the time this article was published, Apple had not responded to a request for a comment on the matter.

VirnetX shares closed the day up 1.25% on the news. Apple shares were down a fraction of a percent, closing at $465.25.