Google Loses To Patent Troll Seeking $125 Million In Damages
Google has lost its battle against a patent troll after a Texas court found Android guilty of infringing a push notification patent. SimpleAir — which has also targeted Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, and other technology giants — is now seeking $125 million in damages.
The case was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, a jurisdiction famous for its friendliness towards patent trolls, and concerns patent number 7,035,914. The patent covers certain aspects of cloud messaging services, and it’s the same one SimpleAir used to secure a settlement from Apple back in 2012.
SimpleAir now licenses a number of patents to Apple, which it boasts about on its website.
Google could have chosen to settle the case out of court as well, but the company obviously felt it had a good chance if beating SimpleAir in front of a judge. Instead, the jury unanimously found SimpleAir’s claims valid, but it could not agree on the amount of damages to be paid by Google.
“We are grateful for the jury’s hard work in this case and pleased with their verdict,” said John Payne, who is the lead inventor and majority owner of SimpleAir. “There was a lot of information presented to the jury and they did an exceptional job figuring out what mattered and what didn’t.
“We look forward to addressing the issue of damages in the second trial and hope the jury in that trial will be as dedicated as this one was.”
The date of that second trial is yet to be confirmed.
- SourceBusiness Wire
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