Cisco owes nearly $66 million in audio-conferencing patent case, jury says

Aug 30 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems (CSCO.O) must pay video group-chat app maker Paltalk (PALT.O) $65.7 million for infringing a patent related to audio conferencing, a jury in Texas federal court said on Thursday.

The jury determined that Cisco's WebEx web-conferencing products violated Paltalk's patent rights in audio-server technology for teleconferencing.

A Cisco spokesperson said on Friday that the company would challenge the verdict in post-trial motions and will appeal if necessary. Paltalk attorneys Max Tribble and Kalpana Srinivasan of Susman Godfrey said in a statement that they were "thrilled" with the verdict.

New York-based Paltalk's stock was down 37% to $3.45 per share on Friday afternoon despite the verdict. The company said in a press release on Friday that it estimated it would eventually "receive no more than one third of the gross proceeds" from the award.

Paltalk filed the lawsuit against San Jose, California-based Cisco in Waco, Texas, federal court in 2021. Cisco denied the allegations and argued that the patent was invalid.

New York-based Paltalk's stock was down 37% to $3.45 per share on Friday afternoon despite the verdict. The company said in a press release on Friday that it estimated it would eventually "receive no more than one third of the gross proceeds" from the award.

Paltalk filed the lawsuit against San Jose, California-based Cisco in Waco, Texas, federal court in 2021. Cisco denied the allegations and argued that the patent was invalid.

U.S. District Judge Alan Albright rejected Cisco's request for a mistrial on Thursday, which Cisco had argued was necessary after Albright "changed course" at the beginning of the trial on how a key part of the patent would be interpreted.

The case is Paltalk Holdings Inc v. Cisco Systems Inc, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, No. 6:21-cv-00757.