Telecom Ramblings

In Level 3′s (LVLT) CDN patent infringement lawsuit against Limelight (LLNW), the judge yesterday released the Markman ruling.  Reader Eric S very kindly sent me a copy, so I just spent the last half hour reading legalese.  A Markman hearing is about defining the terms to be used to describe the scope of the patents in question.  The plaintiff, of course, tries to keep the scope wide, and the defendent tries to keep it narrow, each trying to gain an advantage.

In this case there were some 18 terms under dispute, to which both Level 3 and Limelight provided definitions.  The judge either chose between them or constructed his own compromise definition.  The score was 11 for Level 3, 7 for the judge, and zero for Limelight.  I am no legal expert of any sort, let alone patents.  But it does look to me like Level 3 won this round.  Any patent lawyers out there?

But it’s still early, who knows when we get to the actual trial.  Limelight, of course, has had a busy year in court.  Back in September they settled a suit with Two-Way Media, and we are still expecting a ruling in the Akamai/Limelight suit soon also.