Supreme Court Rules Against Cisco In Wireless Patent Case

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Cisco on Tuesday over a $64 million high-profile patent-infringement verdict involving a 2007 case around a patent for a wireless networking method.

Commil USA LLC was the holder of a patent for a method of implementing short-range wireless networks that would improve the implementation of a wireless network where multiple access points are needed. Cisco was sued by Commil, which alleged patent infringement, in 2007, and in April 2011 a jury awarded Commil $63.8 million in damages. A judge also added $10.3 million in interest.

In June 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit abandoned the 2011 judgment based on the networking giant's argument that it had a "good faith belief that the contested patent was invalid," as well as an "erroneous" instruction given to the jury regarding the infringement, according to Case Collard, a partner at the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney who specializes in IT patent litigation.

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"Why this case is so interesting is because what Cisco is proposing would have essentially been a new defense to patent infringement to say, 'I didn't believe your patents were valid, so I'm not liable for induced infringement,' " said Collard, in an interview with CRN. "It was a very creative defense."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court voted 6-2 to throw out the ruling by the appeals court.

Regarding the Supreme Court ruling Tuesday, Cisco released a statement to CRN: "Today's decision simply eliminates one of the many strong defenses available to Cisco and we look forward to the retrial of the case."

Collard expects a new trial that might last "quite awhile" -- possibly even years.

"Cisco's not done yet. I think they'll likely fight pretty hard," said Collard. "When you have a $64 million verdict, that's where you pull out all the stops."

PUBLISHED MAY 26, 2015