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.
