Also wins Verizon settlement
AT&T Inc. lost a jury trial in a patent infringement case in U.S. District Court brought by TGIP, Inc. and as a result has been ordered by the Court to pay $156 million to TGIP.
The case was based on two patents reportedly owned by TGIP that pertained to activation of telephone calling cards. The jury also found that AT&T had “willfully” infringed upon TGIP’s patents, which means that the verdict is subject to “treble” (i.e., 3x the amount) damages, making the total verdict against AT&T worth $468 million.
AT&T announced that it would appeal the verdict. The legal action was filed against AT&T Corporation in 2006 prior to its merger with SBC, when it became AT&T Inc.
Verizon Communications Inc. confirmed that it had settled out of court with TGIP, Inc. to avoid going to trial over allegations similar to those lodged against AT&T. The amount of the settlement and any other details were not available.