Level 3 Sues Limelight Over Patents

By The WHIR, January 04, 2008
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January 4, 2008 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Telecommunications provider Level 3 Communications (level3.com) recently announced that it is suing content delivery network provider Limelight Networks (llnw.com) for infringing on its content delivery network patents.

According to reports, Level 3 filed the lawsuit on December 17 in Virginia's Eastern District Court and is reportedly accusing Limelight of using and profiting from three patents now belonging to Level 3 through its acquisition of SAVVIS' CDN assets in January 2007. Level 3 says that a month after the SAVVIS deal, it sent a letter to Limelight to inform it of its intellectual property infringement but the company failed to re-design its CDN to avoid the claims of the Level 3 patents. Limelight raised more than $200 million in its IPO in July 2007 through its CDN services, says Level 3.

The company hasn't specified how much money it wants for the "irreparable injury and damages" it has suffered, but it has told the court that it wants a jury trial. Meanwhile, Limelight said in a company statement that it believes the allegations are unjustified and that it will "defend itself vigorously."

Legal experts like William Wilhelm Jr., who specializes in IP litigation, believes there will be a rise in cross-licensing and patent litigation in the telecommunications space over the next while and that lawsuits like this will grow in number as more executives and boards become attuned to the importance of IP strategy.

Last month, Level 3 won a Technical Emmy Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Technical/Engineering Development" as awarded by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Tags: content delivery network telecommunications ETT Intel Iona Level 3 Communications Limelight Networks Savvis