Finisar Wins Verdict Against DirecTV

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Finisar Corp., which makes fiber-optic equipment for computer networks, won a $78.9 million jury verdict in a patent infringement lawsuit against El Segundo-based satellite-television provider DirecTV Group Inc.


The information transmission patent in dispute addresses ways to transmit and broadcast digital information to a wide base of subscribers. The method was invented by Sunnyvale-based Finisar co-founder Frank Levinson, according to company.


“This verdict confirms our long-held belief that the methods found within the (No. 5,404,505) patent … are major contributions to the field of digital information transmission,” Finisar Chief Executive Jerry Rawls said in a statement. “As a result of this verdict, Finisar will continue its ongoing ‘505 patent licensing discussions with other companies operating data distribution networks.”


A federal court in Beaumont, Texas, rendered the verdict on June 23. The verdict is the fourth-largest patent infringement award in the U.S. so far in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.


DirecTV said in a statement that it plans to appeal, calling the verdict a “distortion of patent infringement law.” The company said its systems were developed by its own engineers based on pre-existing technology.

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