Vringo, Inc.(NYSEAMEX:VRNG) was looking for more than
$500 million in damages in its patent lawsuit against Google Inc(NASDAQ:GOOG) and
other Internet companies for violating patents held by its unit I/P Engine.
What it got was $30 million. In a ruling on Tuesday,
the jury told five companies including Google to pay Vringo about $30 million
for infringing on its patents.
Vringo shares tanked 10 percent after the news. It
closed down 8 percent at $3.66 in New York.
The court-appointed jury upheld the validity of
Vringo's patents and asked Google to pay $15.8 million, AOL $7.9 million,
IAC/InterActiveCorp-owned IAC Search & Media $6.6 million and Gannett Co
Inc. $4.3 million, Vringo said in a statement.
Vringo had acquired I/P in March and inherited the
lawsuit which I/P had filed against AOL, Google, IAC, Gannett and Target Corp
in 2011.
Google's liability in the case extends to two patents
that I/P had bought from Lycos, whose founder was the original holders of the
patents.
Reuters quoted Virginia courtroom sources as saying
that the besides the $30 million payout in past damages the companies will also
be liable to pay an additional 3.5 percent royalties on its patens until they
expire in 2016.
The total payout will be more than $125 million a year
for five years.
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