The $175M verdict awarded yesterday by an Austin, TX jury in favor of walkie-talkie company Voxer is the latest in the IP infringement portfolio of Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, this time for using communications technology patented by Voxer in its Facebook Live and Instagram Live features.
Voxer first filed its lawsuit against Facebook in 2020. In its initial 2020 complaint Voxer alleged that its founder, an army veteran named Tom Katis, began developing communications tech in 2006 after witnessing shortcomings in walkie-talkie technology during his service in Afghanistan. The complaint further laid out that the Voxer app was launched in 2011 and that Facebook representatives got in touch with Voxer in 2012 to discuss a potential collaboration. However the companies never entered into any sort of partnership, and Facebook even revoked Voxer\’s rights to features such as \”find friends\” via its platform.
The companies\’ legal fight over intellectual property went international when the two companies also took the case to court in London in 2021, as reported by The Register.
Meta intends to appeal the verdict.