Jury awards $115m in patent damages against Verizon

A jury in Virginia awarded $115 million in damages to ActiveVideo Networks, finding that Verizon Communications Inc. infringed television-technology patents it holds.Verizon representative Ed McFadden said the company disagrees with the verdict, a stance he said Verizon was confident the court of appeals would reach as well. He said Verizon won't be paying any damages while the appeal is ongoing. ActiveVideo-a privately held company focused on cloud-based delivery of video-on-demand and interactive television-said the jury found its intellectual property was violated during Verizon's deployment of its FiOS television service. Verizon invested heavily in its FiOS fiber optic cable system, a strategy that is starting to yield dividends.
ActiveVideo also said it would seek an injunction against Verizon "to prevent any further unlawful use" of its technology."This verdict provides further support for our customer, Cablevision, in their defense against Verizon's injunction claims within the U.S. International Trade Commission," Chief Executive Jeff Miller said, referring to Cablevision Systems Corp. ActiveVideo filed its lawsuit against Verizon in May 2010. In May of this year, a district court invalidated a Verizon countersuit in their infringement battle. Verizon shares were up two pennies, at $35.51 in after-hours trade.

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