MIDDLETOWN – KVH Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI) did not infringe upon a patent held by King Controls, a U.S. District Court jury in Minnesota ruled on Friday.
The jury found that the other company’s claim was invalid, due to the existence of prior art and the obviousness of the technology, KVH said.
Martin Kits van Heyningen, KVH’s president, chairman and CEO, described the charges as “ill-conceived."
King Controls had claimed that satellite switching capabilities in KVH’s TracVision mobile satellite TV systems infringed on a patent the company filed in 2000 (U.S. Patent 6,864,846). It had sought both royalties from KVH and an injunction preventing it from selling certain products. But KVH successfully argued that the technology was already in use by KVH and other companies before the King Controls patent application was filed.
“KVH is a company built on technological innovation and, with an extensive patent portfolio, we have a profound respect for intellectual property rights,” Kits van Heyningen said in a statement. “As a result, we were committed to successfully defending ourselves from these baseless charges leveled by a competitor. This decision reaffirms our right to continue offering our award-winning mobile satellite TV technology.”
KVH was represented at trial by Foley Hoag LLP of Boston. It also was represented by Merchant & Gould PC.
KVH Industries Inc. (Nasdaq: KVHI) is a maker of live mobile media systems and of navigation and guidance systems for defense and civilian use. Additional information is available at www.kvh.com.
