SiliconBeat

Security software supplier McAfee reported losing a jury verdict in patent infringement case brought againt it by Dallas-based DeepNines in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The jury found that some of the applications in McAfee’s IntruShield network security appliance did infringe on DeepNines’ patents, and award a one-time lump sum payment for “past and future damamges” of $18 million, according to McAfee’s SEC filing today.

The jury also found the infringement to be “willful,” which could have resulted in three times the normal damages. McAfee moved to have the finding overturned and the District Court judge agreed in a ruling that the facts of the case did not support the jury’s verdict that the infringement was willful.

McAfee, which says it plans to “vigorously challenge the verdict,” had not accrued any liability in its financial statements for this lawsuit as of March 31. The company “expects that the $18 million in damages awarded by the jury to DeepNines may have an impact on its results of operations for the second quarter of 2008 and for future periods.”