A federal jury in Waco listened to four days of testimony and oral arguments last week before finding that New Jersey-based Paltalk Holdings’ patents regarding audio server technology are valid and that Cisco Systems infringed on those patents with its Webex conferencing service.
The seven-person jury deliberated for more than two hours before it awarded Paltalk $65.7 million in damages. In a press release, Paltalk said it plans to seek legal fees.
Bloomberg News reports that Cisco is planning to appeal the verdict, which was handed down Thursday before U.S. District judge Alan Albright in the Western District of Texas.
“Cisco is disappointed with the outcome given the substantial evidence of Cisco’s own innovation, non-infringement, invalidity, and reasonable royalties presented at trial,” the defendant told Bloomberg in an email.
Susman Godfrey partner Max Tribble of Houston and associates Kalpana Srinivasan of Los Angeles and Ryan Caughey and Amber Magee led the legal team for Paltalk, which describes itself as a “communications software innovator.” Mark Siegmund, a partner at Cherry Johnson Siegmund James in Waco, served as local plaintiff’s counsel.
In an interview, Tribble said he believed “the credibility of our witnesses” was influential on the jury. Tribble and Susman Godfrey have represented Paltalk for two decades, including successful litigation victories against Microsoft, Sony and Activision regarding video gaming technology.
Cisco is represented by Perkins Coie partners Andrew T. Dufresne, Sarah Piepmeier and Elise Edlin. None are based in Texas. Potter Minton lawyers Michael E. Jones and Shaun William Hassett of Tyler served as local counsel for Cisco.
The case is Paltalk Holdings v. Cisco Systems, No. 6:21-cv-00757.