Vringo Inc. (VRNG) has again expanded the scope of its
patent-infringement lawsuit against ZTE Corp. (ZTCOY, 0763.HK,
000063.SZ) by filing in a French court.
Representatives of ZTE weren't immediately available for
comment.
"This French suit is part of Vringo's global licensing and
enforcement program," said David L. Cohen, head of licensing,
litigation and intellectual property. "If ZTE does not agree to a
license with us, then we will ask courts throughout the world for
appropriate relief."
Vringo, a video-ringtone and intellectual-property firm,
bolstered its intellectual-property business in August when it
bought several hundred patents and patent applications from
struggling cellphone company Nokia Corp. (NOK, NOK1V.HE) for $22
million.
The company sent a letter to ZTE in late September asking the
Chinese telecommunications company to review whether it needs to
license any of Vringo's recently acquired Nokia patents, warning
that it could take legal action.
Vringo initially filed a lawsuit in October against ZTE's U.K.
unit for alleged infringement of its patents for handsets, base
stations and base station controllers. Vringo filed another suit in
November against ZTE in Germany.
In November, Vringo was awarded about $30 million in damages and
granted future royalties by a federal jury in its patent suit
against a handful of technology giants, including Google Inc.
(GOOG) and AOL Inc. (AOL). Vringo had sued the search companies for
allegedly infringing two of its patents related to advertising
placement in search results.
Shares were recently trading 9% higher at $3.45 premarket. The
stock is up 11% this year.
Write to Melodie Warner at melodie.warner@dowjones.com
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