Google & Youtube Hit With Patent Fine Over Video Sharing

Google and its video platform YouTube owe nearly $26 million for infringing a streaming-video patent owned by VideoShare, a Texas federal jury said.

The Waco, Texas jury found Tuesday that YouTube’s streaming technology works in the same way as VideoShare’s patented technology for converting a video to multiple formats and transmitting it in the best format for a user’s device.

The jury also rejected Google and YouTube’s claims that the patent was invalid for containing “well-understood, routine, and conventional” elements.

Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda said in an email Wednesday the company is still confident the patent is invalid and that it didn’t infringe, and is evaluating its options.

VideoShare attorney Michael Shore of Shore Chan said in a statement on Wednesday that the company “had the facts and the law on its side.”

VideoShare, which was created in 1998 by three inventors who developed early streaming-video technology, suedGoogle and YouTube in 2019, alleging YouTube technology for transmitting a video file to a user based on its compatibility with the user’s device infringed the patent.

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