A US federal jury has ruled that Google violated the patent rights of software developer Touchstream Technologies with its remote-streaming technology and must pay $338.7 million in damages. The jury found that Google’s Chromecast and other devices infringed on Touchstream’s patents related to streaming videos from one screen to another.
Google plans to appeal the verdict, stating that it has always developed technology independently and competed based on the merits of its ideas. On the other hand, Touchstream’s attorney, Ryan Dykal, expressed satisfaction with the outcome.
Touchstream, also known as Shodogg, based in New York, filed a lawsuit in 2021, claiming that its founder, David Strober, invented technology in 2010 that allowed videos to be moved from small devices like smartphones to larger ones like televisions. The complaint alleged that Google had a meeting with Touchstream about the technology in December 2011 but showed no interest two months later. Google then introduced its Chromecast media-streaming devices in 2013.
Touchstream asserted that Google’s Chromecast copied its innovations and infringed on three of its patents. The company also claimed that Google’s Home and Nest smart speakers, along with third-party televisions and speakers with Chromecast capabilities, infringed on its patents.
Google denied infringing on Touchstream’s rights and contended that the patents were invalid.
Additionally, Touchstream has filed similar complaints against cable providers Comcast, Charter, and Altice in Texas earlier this year, though those cases are still pending.
