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Technology Stocks : Interdigital Communication(IDCC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Eric L who wrote (4774)	10/31/2002 3:50:22 PM
From: Gus	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5195

No problem. More tough talk from Ericsson. Jury findings of "willful" infringement are actually rare in patent lawsuits and the burden of proof usually belongs to the owner of the patent. In this case, it appears that several internal memos sealed Ericsson's fate. Ericsson faces $61 million patent violation fine By Joris Evers October 31, 2002 5:43 am PT A TEXAS JURY awarded communications equipment company Harris Corp. about $61 million in compensatory damages in a patent infringement case it brought against Ericsson Inc., the U.S. unit of L.M. Ericsson, according to a statement from Harris. A jury in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Tuesday found that Ericsson's mobile phones and base stations infringe a patent held by Harris of Melbourne, Fla., Harris said in the statement issued Wednesday. The award of about $61 million to Harris could be doubled or tripled by the court because the jury found Ericssons conduct "willful, according to Harris, which expects Ericsson to appeal the verdict. Ericsson can ill afford such a penalty. The Stockholm company has been struggling to stay afloat in the crisis that has hit the worldwide telecommunications market. Mads Madsen, an Ericsson spokesman, said that the case is not closed yet because the judge still has make his decision on the matter. "It is important not to misread the [Harris statement]; the case is not closed and the court decision has not been made. This is the jury; the judge makes the final decision," said Madsen. "The jury has not decided in favor of Ericsson and we think they are wrong. We are now waiting for the judge to make the court's decision," he said. "If the judge sides with the jury, we will appeal. It can be years before there is a final decision. We do not believe we infringed on Harris' patent." The case is about a patent for TDMA (time division multiple access) speech encoding used predominantly in U.S. mobile phone networks, according to Madsen. Ericsson does not know when the judge will rule infoworld.com Willful infringement Infringement or active inducement of infringement is willful when it is done deliberately and intentionally, and with knowledge of the PATENT. Copying of an INVENTION, if such copying continues after the existence of the patent is made known, is evidence of willfulness. However, infringement or active inducement of infringement is not willful if it is done with a good faith belief that the patent is either invalid or not infringed. *The burden is on the patent owner to show willfulness by clear and convincing evidence.* Power Lift, Inc. v. Lang Tools, Inc., 227 U.S.P.Q. 435, 438 (Fed. Cir. 1985). baypatents.com