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A federal jury in Pennsylvania has handed Comcast a $240 million defeat, finding the telecommunications behemoth willfully infringed a patent tied to voice recognition technology—while clearing it on a second patent—after years of courtroom sparring.

Like a long-running chess match that suddenly ends in checkmate, the verdict landed Friday when jurors awarded Promptu Systems Corp. $240 million on one of the two patents at issue. Jurors concluded Comcast’s infringement was willful, according to a statement released by Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner LLP. As of Tuesday, the jury’s full verdict remained under seal.

One Patent Falls, One Survives

The case revolved around U.S. Patent Nos. 7,047,196 and 7,260,538, both covering voice-driven technology. Jurors ruled that the claims of the ’196 patent were invalid, wiping out liability on that front. The infringement finding—and the hefty damages—rested solely on the ’538 patent.

“After nearly a decade of litigation, this verdict stands as a powerful affirmation of Promptu’s pioneering work in voice-powered TV interfaces,” said Jacob Schroeder, an attorney for Promptu, in a statement. He praised the jury’s “meticulous, sustained attention to the evidence,” likening the outcome to long-overdue recognition of Promptu’s innovations.

Comcast Pushes Back

Comcast sought to downplay the impact, saying the ruling will not disrupt its services or customers.

“Our technology was independently created by our engineers, and these patents have expired,” the company said in a statement. Comcast added it intends to continue pressing its claims against Promptu, arguing the expired patents are unenforceable and signaling a possible appeal.

A Case Resurrected on Appeal

The lawsuit’s path has been anything but straight. The case returned to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit revived it in February 2024, finding that the lower court had misread key aspects of the patents.

That appellate decision unraveled a stipulated judgment entered after U.S. District Judge Juan Sánchez issued a claim construction order that largely favored Comcast. Promptu had agreed to dismiss the case to challenge that interpretation on appeal—and the Federal Circuit sided with Promptu on most points, breathing new life into the dispute.

Roots in a 2016 Filing

Promptu first sued Comcast in 2016, alleging infringement after meetings between the companies about Promptu’s voice-recognition technology. Three patents were initially in play, but one—U.S. Patent No. RE44,326—was later dismissed with prejudice.

For the remaining patents, the Federal Circuit had already weighed in on related administrative proceedings. It upheld a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling that some claims of the ’196 patent were invalid, while affirming that Comcast failed to prove any claims of the ’538 patent invalid.

The Lawyers Behind the Battle

Promptu is represented by David V. Dzara and Brett A. Datto of Weir LLP, along with a large Finnegan Henderson team including Schroeder, Jinwoo Kim, Gerald F. Ivey and others.

Comcast’s defense team includes Stephen J. Kastenberg and David L. Axelrod of Ballard Spahr LLP, joined by Douglas E. Lumish, Mark A. Perry and Jeff A. Homrig of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.