US jury orders AT&T and Nokia to pay $166m damages
World’s largest telecom company infringed inventor’s mobile network patents | Nokia designed and built the cell towers carrying the tech.
AT&T and Nokia are facing a $166 million payout to an inventor’s company after losing a US patents dispute over mobile network technology.
On January 13, a jury in the Eastern District of Texas decided that AT&T had infringed two technology patents owned by Finesse Wireless and awarded damages.
The week-long trial concerned two patents that relate to intermodulation, a type of signal distortion that makers of wireless applications have contended with for decades. It affects phone call and data quality.
It was claimed that AT&T had infringed the patents by using certain equipment made by Nokia in its cell towers.
Inventor Francis Smith found a technique for combating intermodulation and was granted two patents for the technology in 2008 and 2017, US patents 7,346,134 and 9,548,775 respectively. These were assigned to his Utah-based company Finesse.
Finesse sued AT&T, the world’s largest telecoms company by revenue, for infringement in 2021. Nokia, which designed and made the cell towers used by AT&T’s networks, later intervened in the dispute.
The two mobile giants denied the allegations and sought an invalidity defence but this was rejected by the jury, who awarded the full damages amount of $166.6 million.
Joe Grinstein, partner and lead counsel at Susman Godfrey who acted for Finesse, said: “We are pleased to have achieved this result recognising the importance and value of our client’s innovations.”
In a joint statement, Nokia and AT&T said: “We disagree with the jury’s finding in this case. We continue to believe that the technology involved in this case is unique and proprietary to Nokia. We are considering our options, including whether to appeal this decision.”
Representing Nokia in the case was Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, and acting for AT&T was Baker Botts.
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