Court Affirms Verizon Must Pay Millions to ActiveVideo for Patent Violations

Federal appeals court upholds damages awarded in case, reverses part of infringement ruling

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/27/2012 11:38:36 AM

A federal appeals court Friday upheld a decision ordering Verizon Communications to pay upwards of $260 million to interactive TV vendor ActiveVideo Networks for patent infringement -- and the telco is on the hook for future royalties, as well.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit partly ruled in Verizon's favor by reversing a lower court's permanent injunction barring the telco from employing the ActiveVideo patents. The appeals court also reversed the district court's judgment of infringement against Verizon on one of ActiveVideo's patents while affirming that the telco infringed three others.

However, the Court of Appeals upheld the damages awarded to ActiveVideo in full and also affirmed the district court's imposition of a sunset royalty.

"Though we vacate the district court's injunction, we see no error in its post-verdict royalty calculation," the appeals court said in the ruling.

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