Anybody think this will hurt Adobe tomorrow...in front of good earnings...It should another company trying to horn in on a frivilous lawsuit....
WILMINGTON, Del, Sept 18 (Reuter) - A federal jury of nine
began deliberating late Thursday on whether Adobe System Inc's
ADBE.O Photoshop computer software infringes patents for
video graphics owned by the Quantel Ltd unit of Carlton
Communications Inc CCM.L.
Quantel has asked for maximum damages of $138.1 million,
including $20.6 million in interest.
The damages are based on Quantel's request for a royalty
rate of 17.8 percent of Adobe's worldwide Photoshop sales since
1993. If the jury finds there was infringement, it can also
triple any damages it awards if the infringement is thought to
have been intentional.
Adobe attorney James Pooley told Reuters after closing
arguments before Judge Roderick McKelvie of the U.S. District
Court in Delaware that, "These guys were not the inventors. It
was all done by Dr Alvey Ray Smith and other American graphics
pioneers long before (Quantel) arrived on the scene."
Adobe has claimed that Quantel's patents are not valid
because the technology for an electronic stylus used to make
and retouch computer images was "obvious" and the process was
general knowledge in the industry. Adobe also alleged that
Quantel obtained the patents by misleading examiners in the
U.S. Patent and Trademark office by failing to inform them of
prior inventions and publications.
But Quantel attorney Richard Mescon told Reuters after the
trial, "We believe the patents we're asserting were infringed
are valid and were obtained in the appropriate way."
Pooley asked the jury for a royalty rate no greater than
one percent should it find that Photoshop products do infringe
Quantel's patent claims. He also asked that, if damages are
awarded, they be based on Adobe's U.S. sales of $1.4 billion,
or worldwide sales of $3.3 billion calculated from January
1996.
If no decision is reached Thursday, the jury will resume
deliberations at 0900EDT Friday.
Quantel, of Newbury, England, sells tapeless visual effects
systems and graphics equipment.
Adobe, of San Jose, California and which develops computer
software for electronic documents, said its third quarter
earnings will exceed analyst projections
REUTER
Rtr 19:37 09-18-97 |
