Sprint has been filing patent lawsuits over VoIP for more than a decade now, and the company may have just scored its biggest payout yet. On Friday, a jury in Sprint’s home district of Kansas City said that Time Warner Cable, now part of Charter Communications, must pay $ 139.8 million (Verdict Form) for infringing several patents related to VoIP technology. The jury found that TWC’s infringement was willful, which means that the judge could increase the damage award up to three times its value.
“We are disappointed with the outcome and are considering our options,” a Charter spokesperson told Bloomberg News, which first reported the verdict. A Sprint spokesperson said the company was pleased with the verdict, which represented its “full damage demand.”
The VoIP space has seen more than its share of patent lawsuits. Sprint pounded an $ 80 million patent settlement out of Vonage following a 2007 jury verdict. In 2008, Sprint sued several smaller VoIP providers, compelling companies like Big River Telephone Co., based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to pay for a license to Sprint’s patents.
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