AT&T (NYSE:T): The company was told to pay $27.5 million for it infringement upon a Colorado company’s patents to control the way audio or video is streamed online, Bloomberg reports. The company’s U-verse TV services infringed two patents that are owned by Two-Way Media LLC, the federal jury in San Antonio decided yesterday. The jury rejected Dallas-based AT&T’s efforts for the patents to be deemed invalid. The Two-Way patents cover live streaming technology and ways to record detailed usage data by customers, claim the company’s lawyers at Susman Godfrey. ‘‘This was a very hard-fought case,’’ stated Parker Folse, a lawyer representing Two-Way, in a statement.
Sprint (NYSE:S): The deal that involves Sprint, Softbank, and Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) is on track for action by the end of May, considering a new memo from Stifel Nicolaus, ZDNet reported. The investment banking firm update claims that Julius Genachowski, who is the chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, confirmed that review of the deals have been scheduled to make a final decision by May 29, the deadline for the non-binding 180-day transaction “shot clock” timeframe. Considering Genachowski’s comments to them, analysts believe that the FCC will approve the proposals. Softbank purchased a 70 percent stake in Sprint for $20.1 billion last October. Sprint also owns slightly over half of Clearwire and hopes it will be able to acquire the rest of the company for $2.97 per share.
MetroPCS Communications (NYSE:PCS): The company and Deutsche Telekom AG’s T-Mobile USA claim that they have received all regulatory approvals that are necessary for their pending merger. According to the wireless carriers, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. advised Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS on Wednesday, and it it has determined that there are no unresolved national-security concerns. The most recent approval follows U.S. regulator approval of the combination of the two wireless carriers last week. The merger creates a publicly traded company of which Deutsche Telekom would own 74 percent.
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