- Battle in the Eastern District
A federal jury in the patent-claim-friendly Eastern District of Texas awarded $106 million this week to technology licensing company VirnetX after finding that Microsoft infringed on two of its patents involving virtual private networks. The Scotts Valley, Calif.-based company’s stocked jumped 14 percent, while Microsoft vowed to appeal. VirnetX had sought $242 million in claims.
The weeklong trial pitted a pair of Lawdragon Finalists against each other, with Douglas Cawley of Dallas’ McKool Smith representing VirnetX, and Matthew Powers of Weil Gotshal & Manges representing Microsoft. The Recorder article notes that this is the second time in the past year that Cawley has prevailed over both Powers – a perennial Lawdragon 500 known as one of the top patent lawyers in the country – and his client Microsoft in the Eastern District courtroom of U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis. In the first case, Cawley client i4i Inc. won a $290 million verdict against Microsoft. There is a hint of a possible home field advantage, with Powers as the outsider and Cawley as the tall Texan speaking with a twang. Nevertheless, Powers in 2007 guided Microsoft to a big defense victory in the Eastern District against Acacia Research.
|
|
| 04:28 AM Mar 18, 2010 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
|
|
