BigBand Networks Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against Imagine Communications

BigBand Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBND), today announced the filing of a patent infringement lawsuit against Imagine Communications, Inc. in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

The lawsuit alleges that Imagine products willfully infringe claims of BigBand’s U.S. Patents Nos. 6,937,619, 6,999,477 and 7,058,087. These patents cover advanced video processing and bandwidth management techniques. The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief, along with damages for willful infringement.

Five of Imagine Communications’ top executives—including the company’s founders and CEO—are former BigBand employees.

“BigBand’s success as a company is largely attributable to its innovative technology development, which is the result of a considerable investment of time and capital in research and development,” said Rob Horton, vice president and general counsel for BigBand. “BigBand is committed to protecting its intellectual property. We do not take this action lightly. We believe that the defendant in this case, whose co-founders are former BigBand employees, has infringed upon BigBand’s intellectual property, and with this complaint we are seeking to remedy this specific situation.”