Ciena to seek new trial in dispute with Corvis
Wednesday March 5, 5:42 pm ET
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5 (Reuters) - Telecommunications equipment maker Ciena Corp. (NasdaqNM:CIEN - News) said on Wednesday it would go to court again against Corvis Corp. (NasdaqSC:CORV - News) to resolve a technology patent dispute left undecided by a jury in a prior trial.
Ciena General Counsel Russell Stevenson told Reuters the company will pursue a lawsuit in federal court in Delaware, the same court in which the two telecom equipment makers have contested three other technology patents.
"The judge just has to schedule a trial," Stevenson said. "It's basically a continuation."
"There's no question there will be another trial," Stevenson said. "I expect the date (of the trial) will be in the next month or two."
Andy Backman, vice president of investor and public relations at Corvis, said his company had expected Ciena would request a new trial with a new jury on the patent on which no verdict has been reached.
Linthicum, Maryland-based Ciena and Corvis have tangled in two trails arising from the same lawsuit covering patent disputes.
Ciena initiated a lawsuit in 2000 claiming that Columbia, Maryland-based Corvis had infringed on four of its patents related to wavelength division multiplexing, the process that multiplies the bandwidth -- or carrying capacity -- of fiber-optic communications systems.
Corvis has prevailed on two system patents and was found to have infringed on one product patent, while a jury deadlocked on the dispute over a third patent, Backman said.
Shares in Ciena on Wednesday closed down 10 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $5.19, while shares in Corvis closed up 7 cents, or 12.7 percent, at 62 cents. Stocks of the two telecom equipment makers trade on the Nasdaq stock market. |
