Delaware Jury Rules in Favor of ViaTech Technologies, Citing Adobe's Violation of Digital Content Access Patent
In a significant legal development, Adobe has been slapped with a substantial $33.8 million verdict by a Delaware federal court jury for patent infringement related to their digital licensing technology. The jury, after careful consideration, upheld ViaTech Technologies' claim that Adobe's mechanisms for activating licensed software, including popular products like Acrobat and Photoshop, constituted a breach of ViaTech's patent rights.
Representatives from Adobe have yet to provide an official response or comment regarding this verdict.
Denise De Mory, an attorney representing ViaTech, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating, "We are thrilled that the jury recognized the value of ViaTech's innovations."
ViaTech originally filed its lawsuit in 2019, alleging that its eLicense software had been widely adopted by companies within the computer gaming and digital publishing sectors to safeguard their digital content against unauthorized access and usage. In their claim, ViaTech accused Adobe's software activation technology of infringing upon one of its patents, specifically pertaining to a license control mechanism designed for digital files.
As part of its legal action, ViaTech sought not only financial damages but also an injunction to prevent Adobe from continuing to infringe upon their patent. Initially filed in Massachusetts, the lawsuit was later transferred to Delaware in 2020.
Adobe staunchly refuted the allegations leveled against it, contending that the components of ViaTech's patent in question were, in fact, invalid.
It is worth noting that Microsoft previously navigated a similar legal battle in 2017, ultimately prevailing when a Delaware federal judge determined that Microsoft's Windows and Office software did not infringe upon ViaTech's patent, establishing a precedent for cases of this nature in the technology industry.