SSL is a commonly-used protocol for managing the security of a message transmission on the internet, particularly when making transactions. It uses the public and private key encryption system from RSA to scramble on-line data exchanges. VeriSign was RSA's digital certificate division until it was spun off in 1995.
SSL is included as part of both the Microsoft and Netscape browsers, although SSL has recently been succeeded by Transport Layer Security (TLS), which is based on SSL.
Stambler was granted seven patents between 1993 and 1999 which, he said, covered SSL. The jury in the US District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, disagreed. It rejected four patent infringement claims; the judge rejected a fifth.
A separate trial begins today to assess the validity of his patents, which could provide grounds for appealing the jury's verdict.
Stambler had sued for $20 million. However, RSA and VeriSign were not his only targets. He also sued Openwave Systems, First Data, Omnisky, and later, Certicom. Omnisky later went bankrupt, and the other companies each settled with Stambler.