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7 December 2017Patents

Sprint accuses cable company of patent infringement

Telecoms company Sprint has accused Mediacom Communications, a cable TV and communications provider, of infringing 13 patents covering voice-over-packet (VoP) technology.

VOP technology allows for voice data to be converted into packets of data, rather than having a separate circuit for each call.

Sprint filed its lawsuit at the US District Court for the District of Delaware on Friday, December 1.

The claim outlines Sprint’s development of the technology, stating that in 1993, Sprint’s employees were attempting to solve a problem affecting Sprint’s ability to expand its network to support its growing customer base.

“At that time, virtually all voice traffic was carried over the Public Switched Telephone Network, which utilised highly complex, extremely expensive switches and other well-established components to route this traffic,” it explained.

Sprint went on to say that one of its technologists developed VoP technology inventions for Sprint.

The inventions and the related innovations made by people working with him have resulted in a VoP patent portfolio of over 120 issued US patents, said Sprint.

“Unfortunately, many companies in the industry, including Mediacom, have realised the great value in this technology and have misappropriated it without Sprint’s permission,” claimed the telecoms company.

The suit then detailed Sprint’s enforcement efforts stemming back to 2007, when a Kansas jury found that cloud communications provider Vonage had infringed six of Sprint’s patents.

Vonage entered into a settlement agreement with Sprint, paying it $80 million for a licence to Sprint’s VoP portfolio.

More recently, in March 2017, a Kansas jury found that Time Warner Cable had wilfully infringed five patents in the portfolio, awarding Sprint $139.8 million in damages.

Then, in October, Sprint entered into a settlement agreement resolving a dispute with cable company Comcast.

Sprint said it has “suffered damages in an amount not yet determined”, and is seeking triple damages and a permanent injunction.

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