Verizon receives $847 million verdict for 5G and hotspot patent infringement • The Register

In one of the most drastic rulings in legal history, a federal court in East Texas ordered cellphone giant Verizon to pay the patent owner, General Access Solutions, $847 million.

As the jury ruled (PDF) late last week, the “reasonable royalty fee” for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,230,931 (‘931) will be $583 million, and for infringement of the second patent 9,426,794 (‘794), $264 million.

Dallas-based General Access, which acquired the patents from original inventor Raze Technologies, claims that Verizon’s 5G wireless network components, smartphone hotspots, wireless home routers and MiFi devices infringe its intellectual property.

The original complaint (PDF) alleges that Verizon’s base station equipment infringes the ‘931 patent for beamforming networks at cell sites, and that Verizon’s wireless devices receiving 4G and 5G cellular signals infringe his ‘794 patent when they transmit information to mobile stations using 802.11 Wi-Fi communication protocols.

According to the complaint, devices infringing ‘734 include home or office Wi-Fi routers with a cellular network, Wi-Fi “hotspots,” and even smartphones with Wi-Fi hotspot functionality. Both patents were originally filed in 2001.

Verizon argued that the patents were invalid due to lack of a written description and/or were not “fully incorporated,” but the jury indicated “no” on the form when asked if it agreed with that opinion.

On February 22, 2023, District Judge Rodney Gilstrap granted Ericsson leave to intervene. Ericsson manufactures some of the allegedly infringing equipment, including base stations, and sells them to Verizon.

Law360 noted that Ericsson would be liable for a portion of that verdict if it is upheld, adding that such hefty verdicts “are often overturned or reduced by the Federal Circuit.”

Ericsson told us: “The lawsuit is ongoing and we will therefore refrain from commenting on its specifics. We strongly disagree with the jury’s verdict and continue to support Verizon as it vigorously challenges the outcome.”

Reg asked Verizon for comment. ®