Reuters reported Apple scored a victory in a patent battle with VirnetX which could ultimately lead to the iPhone maker being let off the hook for a $502.8 million payment it was ordered to make in late 2020.

The news agency reported an appeals court panel upheld a previous tribunal’s ruling that the two VirnetX patents in question were invalid. The IP relates to VPN technology.

Court documents explain the patents were invalidated by research in the 1990s relating to the development of a secure, closed HTTP network, which predates VirnetX’s patent claims.

Bloomberg reported the verdict by lower court against Apple could be thrown out based on the Court of Appeal’s decision.

VirnetX started its legal battle against Apple in 2010, accusing it of breaching patents covering secure networks and communication links.

Apple paid VirnetX $454 million in 2020 after a previous ruling in the licensing company’s favour.