AT&T owes Park City firm $166 million for patent infringement

AT&T Mobility LLC must pay $166.3 million in damages for violating Park City-based Finesse Wireless LLC’s patent rights with its 4G/LTE and 5G wireless networks, a jury in East Texas federal court has found.

The jury found that AT&T’s networks that use Nokia-made equipment in cell towers infringe two patents related to reducing wireless-signal interference owned by Finesse. The trial went before U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap where jurors deliberated for three hours before finding{mprestriction ids="1,3"} earlier this month that AT&T infringed a total of 10 claims across two U.S. patents. Jurors also found that AT&T failed to prove that any of the claims were invalid.

Nokia and AT&T said in a joint statement they disagreed with the verdict and are considering an appeal. Finesse’s lead attorney Joe Grinstein of Susman Godfrey said in a statement that the firm was pleased with the verdict.

Finesse, patent-holding company for inventor Francis Smith, sued AT&T in 2021 for infringing the patents. Nokia, which designed and made base stations used with AT&T’s networks, intervened in the case later that year. Finesse’s lawsuit said AT&T’s wireless networks incorporate its patented technology for reducing interference from other signals that can lead to dropped calls, lower voice quality and slower data delivery. AT&T and Nokia denied the allegations. The Texas jury rejected their argument that the patents are invalid.

Finesse settled similar disputes with Ericsson Inc. and Verizon Wireless last year.{/mprestriction}