VidStream won a more than $105 million jury verdict against Twitter, now known as X Corp., over infringement of its video technology patents.
A federal jury in Dallas has awarded over $105 million to VidStream LLC, in a patent infringement lawsuit against social media giant Twitter Inc., now known as X Corp.
In April 2021, Dallas-based VidStream sued Twitter for alleged patent infringement, claiming that the social media giant’s Vine and Periscope video services utilized technology protected by two patents related to video capture and distribution.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, centers on U.S. Patent Nos. 8,464,304 and 8,601,506. These patents describe methods for capturing video content according to predetermined constraints specified by server instructions.
On April 16, the jury of five women and three men found that Twitter willfully infringed VidStream’s U.S. Patent No. 8,464,304.
VidStream is the successor to Youtoo Technologies LLC, which invested millions to create technology enabling users to record videos within social networks and distribute them across multiple platforms.
The core issue involved technology that enables servers to provide instructions to user devices, constraining how video is captured in terms of specific frame rates and video lengths, thereby allowing for more efficient coding and distribution.
Twitter previously challenged both patents at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office through inter parties review proceedings. Still, the PTAB ruled in January 2019 that all challenged claims were valid, finding Twitter failed to demonstrate the patents were unpatentable.
David L. McCombs with Haynes and Boone LLP, counsel for Twitter and XCorp. Declined to comment on Tuesday.
Lead trial counsel Brad Caldwell from Dallas’ Caldwell Cassady & Curry presented VidStream’s case over the past two weeks. The trial team also included Jason Cassady, Austin Curry, and Adrienne Dellinger, with significant contributions from fellow firm attorneys John Summers, Daniel Pearson, Seth Reich, Richard Cochrane, and Bjorn Blomquist.
“Our clients and the entire trial team are thankful for the jury’s time and service before finding VidStream’s patent was willfully infringed,” Caldwell said in a statement. “We are proud to help VidStream protect the company’s valuable technology.”
Jurors heard how the owners of Texas-based Youtoo Technologies filed for bankruptcy protection after the lawsuit was filed. VidStream later acquired the patent and continued the lawsuit alongside many of Youtoo’s original investors and employees. Before the lawsuit, executives from Youtoo and Twitter had multiple meetings, during which Twitter executives praised Youtoo’s ideas.
The case is VidStream, LLC. v. Twitter, Inc., No.3:16-cv-00764.
