A Jury Says AT&T Owes $166 Million For Patent Infringement

(CTN News) – An East Texas federal jury on Friday found AT&T Mobility LLC guilty of violating Finesse Wireless LLC’s patent rights with its 4G/LTE and 5G wireless networks. The jury ordered the company to compensate Finesse Wireless LLC for $166.3 million in damages.

In a 12-page jury verdict, the jury found that AT& networks, which use Nokia-made equipment in cell towers, infringe two patents owned by Finesse, which address the reduction of interference in wireless signals.

There has been a joint statement by Nokia and AT&T that both companies disagree with the verdict and that they will consider appealing it.

Finesse’s lead attorney, Joe Grinstein of Susman Godfrey, said in a statement that they were pleased with the verdict. The firm was pleased with the outcome of the trial.

It was reported in 2021 that Finesse, a Park City, Utah-based company that holds patents for inventor Francis Smith, sued AT&T for infringement of its patents.

A few months after the case was filed, Nokia intervened in the case, having designed and manufactured base stations that were widely used by AT&T’s network.

The lawsuit filed by Finesse states that AT&T’s wireless networks incorporate Finesse’s patented technology to reduce interference that can lead to dropped calls, reduced voice quality, and slower data delivery as a result of other signals conflicting with &T’s wireless networks.

The allegations were denied by AT&T and Nokia. It was announced on Friday that the jury rejected the argument of the plaintiffs that the patents are invalid.

Over the past year, Finesse has settled related disputes with Ericsson Inc. and Verizon Wireless.

It is the case of Finesse Wireless LLC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, No. This case is 2:21-cv-00316, which is pending in court.

The following individuals worked for Finesse: Joe Grinstein, Meng Xi, Shawn Blackburn, Bryce Barcelo, Meg Griffith, and Johnny Ward, of Susman Godfrey; and Andrea Fair, of Ward, Smith & Hill.

Among the Baker Botts attorneys handling AT legal matters are Doug Kubehl, Jeff Becker and Susan Kennedy

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is represented by Dave Nelson, Brianne Straka, Marc Kaplan and Scott Cole for Nokia

Is T-Mobile better than AT&T?

SEE ALSO:

New US Subsidiary Gives Saudi Aramco Access To North America’s Biggest Refinery