VMware’s on the hook for about $237 million dollars after a federal jury found that the virtualization giant infringed on two Densify patents.

In an emailed statement, a VMware spokesperson indicated that the company would appeal. “VMware is proud of its history as an innovator and leader in the enterprise software space,” the spokesperson said. “While we appreciate and respect the judicial process, we continue to strongly believe that we do not infringe the patents asserted against us in this case and intend to vigorously pursue all legal remedies that are available to us to prove that we are not liable here.”

Densify is a Toronto-based startup that makes cloud and container resource management software. It was formerly known as Cibra before changing its name in 2017.

In April 2019, the company filed a complaint in the Delaware District Court accusing VMware of copying Densify’s technology. “Densify’s technology offerings were so compelling that VMware took Densify’s ideas and intellectual property, brazenly infringing the patents with products that worked the same way, looked strikingly similar, and even were advertised using the ‘Densify’ trademarks,” it said.

VMware’s infringement continued over time, according to the lawsuit, with “the most significant to date being the recent releases of its flagship product, vROps, and its movement into the hybrid cloud space.”

vROps is VMware’s vRealize Operations software product that provides operations management across physical, virtual, and cloud environments.

On Jan. 24, jurors reached a verdict and awarded Densify $236.8 million in damages. They found that VMware willfully infringed two Densify patents, including U.S. Patent Nos. 8,209,687 and 9,654,367, which cover virtualization technology that enables multiple computer systems to run on a single server.

“As we maintained throughout trial, VMware unlawfully used Densify’s intellectual property for its own gain,” said Densify attorney Courtland Reichman in a statement. “We are very pleased with the jury’s verdict and consider it not only a victory for Densify, but a victory for all technology companies who risk being unfairly squeezed out of the market by larger competitors who infringe their valuable inventions.”