Meta’s Plea To Drop Verdict In $175 Million Streaming Patent Case Rejected

Voxer stated Fb reduce it off from key options of the social media platform in 2013. (Representational)

A federal decide in Austin, Texas on Tuesday rejected a request by Meta Platforms Inc’s to throw out a $175 million jury patent verdict for walkie-talkie app maker Voxer Inc.

US District Choose Lee Yeakel’s choice leaves intact the jury’s discovering that Meta’s Fb Dwell and Instagram Dwell live-streaming expertise infringed two Voxer patents associated to video streaming and messaging. Meta can nonetheless attraction the decision to a better court docket.

Representatives for Meta and Voxer didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark Wednesday.

San Francisco-based Voxer’s 2020 lawsuit stated its representatives disclosed its patented expertise to Meta, which was then Fb, when the businesses met in 2012 a few potential collaboration.

Voxer stated Fb reduce it off from key options of the social media platform in 2013 and misused its expertise in Fb Dwell and Instagram Dwell, which launched in 2015 and 2016.

A jury discovered final September that Meta infringed the 2 patents, which relate to a technique for streaming video and infrastructure for a video-messaging service, and awarded Voxer $174.5 million in royalty damages.

Meta requested the court docket to overturn the decision or maintain a brand new trial. It raised a number of arguments, together with {that a} cheap jury couldn’t have discovered infringement, the patents had been invalid, the damages had been unjustified, and Voxer’s lawyer had made “inappropriate feedback” that biased the jury towards Meta.

Mr Yeakel denied Meta’s requests Tuesday and stated there was sufficient proof to help the jury’s verdict.

The case is Voxer Inc v. Meta Platforms Inc, US District Courtroom for the Western District of Texas, No. 1:20-cv-00655.

(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.)