Cable & Wireless America and Akamai Reach Agreement Over Patent Disputes

Cable & Wireless America and Akamai Reach Agreement Over Patent Disputes 


SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 7  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cable & Wireless
America today announced that it has reached an agreement with Akamai
Technologies, Inc.  over the patent disputes relating to the two companies'
content delivery network (CDN) services.

Under the agreement, the two companies have agreed to dismiss the two lawsuits
recently filed by Akamai against Cable & Wireless and the pending lawsuits filed
by Cable & Wireless against Akamai, release each company from all previous
patent infringements, and refrain for five years from further patent litigation
under their present patent portfolios and related patents. As part of the
agreement, no cash payments or compensation will be made and each party may
continue to offer its CDN services.  Akamai will be permitted to pursue its
damages claims resulting from the litigation relating to U.S. Patent No.
6,108,703.  A judge limited the scope of Akamai's claims to a CDN technology
previously used by Cable & Wireless America to support a small number of
customers.  Cable & Wireless America expects any damages that might be awarded
to be immaterial to its business.

"We are pleased to be able to reach a settlement and put this episode behind
us," said Cheryl Houser, acting general counsel, Cable & Wireless America.  "Our
recently issued foreign patents, our expected additional U.S. patents, and the
District Court and recent Federal Circuit decisions invalidating Akamai patent
claims confirmed the scope and priority of our inventions. While we are
confident that we would have been successful, the litigation would have
continued for years, and we felt that it was better for our companies and the
CDN industry to reach closure on these matters."

About Cable & Wireless America

Cable & Wireless America is one of the leading providers of complex hosting and
IP solutions for global enterprises, counting 40% of the Fortune 100 among its
customers.  The company's portfolio of services includes a wide range of
flexible and secure IP connectivity and networking solutions along with complete
and secure infrastructure to support complex web hosting.  Cable & Wireless
America is part of the Cable & Wireless group, whose principal operations are in
the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, Japan, the Caribbean,
Panama, the Middle East and Macau. For more information about Cable & Wireless
America, go to http://www.cwusa.com/. 

DATASOURCE: Cable & Wireless America



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