SeaChange to pay in patent decision

Video-on-demand company nCube won a patent infringement case Wednesday against rival SeaChange International, which was ordered to pay about $2 million in damages and a 7 percent royalty on sales of infringing products back to Feb. 1, 2002, and in the future. Judge Joseph J. Farnan in Delaware District Court decided to uphold the patent on Portland, Ore.-based nCube's video server technology, which is designed to deliver video-on-demand services to cable operators. In response, SeaChange CEO Bill Styslinger said in a statement that the ruling "will not materially affect the marketing and performance of our VOD system. We expect the verdict will be set aside in further proceedings."

The suit, filed in January 2001, alleged that Maynard, Mass.-based SeaChange's ITV System, which also enables VOD service, infringed on nCube's patent, obtained in 1998. The VOD technology allows cable operators to enhance a digital video server with additional hours of video storage, allowing greater access to content by multiple households.