A patent infringement dispute between Avid Technology and Harmonic that has been ongoing since 2011 is set to go to trial following a decision from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) confirming the validity of the former’s patent claim.
In a Wednesday press release, Avid said the case will be the second of two patent infringement claims to make it to trial this year. The most recent complaint to be sent to a jury relates to Harmonic’s MediaGrid storage system.
Both cases stem from complaints brought by Avid in 2011, which alleged Harmonic’s MediaGrid solution and Spectrum media server infringed on Avid’s U.S. Patent Numbers 7,487,309 (309 patent) and 5,495,291 (291 patent), respectively.
Harmonic previously asked the USPTO to review and void Avid’s patents, but that effort was only partially successful.
In 2014, the USPTO confirmed the validity of Avid’s 291 patent. Harmonic appealed that decision, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. upheld the claims in 2016. That case is scheduled to go to trial in November.
Harmonic’s challenge did successfully void Avid’s claims on a third patent – Number 6,760,808 – in the MediaGrid complaint. Avid is appealing that decision. However, the USPTO in May upheld the validity of Avid’s 309 patent, setting the stage for a second trial.
“Now that the claims of the 309 Patent have been confirmed as patentable, Avid’s infringement case against Harmonic and its MediaGrid system is expected to proceed to the new trial ordered by the Federal Circuit,” the company says in its release. “Based on expert testimony, Avid expects its claim against Harmonic could result in up to $35 million in damages through 2013. Avid expects that this amount has increased materially since then.”
The news comes just ahead of Harmonic’s second quarter earnings report, which is scheduled for July 31. And Harmonic’s forecast reveals just how much cash is at stake in the video delivery business.
Harmonic notes “market demand for video infrastructure delivered through software subscription and cloud services is accelerating.” The company adds that the total contract value of bookings grew 90 percent sequentially to $7.6 million in the second quarter, while annual recurring revenue grew 87 percent sequentially to $5.8 million.
Overall, the company says it is expecting net revenue of between $80 million and $82 million, with an operating loss of between $28 million and $29 million.
