AT&T, Verizon Defeat East Texas Cell Patent Infringement Suit

AT&T Corp. and Verizon Wireless fended off a patent suit after convincing a federal judge that the patent’s owner improperly sought to expand its scope for its infringement case.

Howlink Global LLC sued the cellular carriers in February 2022, alleging they infringed four cellular communications patents. The case was eventually narrowed to one asserted patent—US Patent No. 8,630,279, which US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Judge J. Rodney Gilstrap ruled Wednesday wasn’t infringed by the companies.

Gilstrap adopted a ruling from Magistrate Judge Roy Payne that determined Howlink’s infringement theory relied on an improperly broad reading ...