Google Push Notifications Nailed for Patent Breach

MARSHALL, Texas (CN) - Google infringed on the data transmission and messaging patent owned by a Texas holding company, a federal jury ruled.

In a 2011 complaint, technology licensing firm SimpleAir alleged that Google's push notification services for Android smartphones and tablets infringed five claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,035,914.

SimpleAir singled out the Google Cloud Messaging and Android Cloud to Device Messaging services, which are used to process and send instant notifications for Android applications.

Jurors reached a verdict on Jan. 18 after a week-long trial before U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, unanimously concluding that SimpleAir proved by a preponderance of the evidence that Google infringed the five claims of the patent.

The jury also found that Google failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the claims were invalid.

Another jury will determine damages in a limited second trial because the one behind the verdict could not reach a unanimous decision on this issue.

SimpleAir is seeking over $125 million in damages.

"There was a lot of information presented to the jury and they did an exceptional job figuring out what mattered and what didn't," John Payne, the majority owner of SimpleAir, said in a statement "We look forward to addressing the issue of damages in the second trial and hope the jury in that trial will be as dedicated as this one was."

SimpleAir currently holds eight U.S. patents and several pending patents in wireless content delivery, mobile applications and push notifications. The company says it has licensed its inventions to "many leading technology companies."

Follow @davejourno

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