Meta has to pay almost 180 million euros for patent infringement on walkie-talkie app

Meta has to pay the app developer Voxer compensation of almost 180 million euros for infringement of a patent by Facebook Live and Instagram Live. The social media giant is appealing the decision of the Texas jury.

Voxer, the maker of the iPhone app Walkie Talkie, sued Meta in 2020 for alleged patent infringement of its live speech technology, so details BusinessInsider. Meta, which was then simply called Facebook, would have approached Voxer shortly after the release of the app in question. When no deal could be reached, the multi-billion dollar company allegedly labeled the app maker a competitor and denied them certain Facebook features. Subsequently, Facebook Live and Instagram Live are said to have started offering features based on Voxer’s technology.

The prosecution alleges that the patented technology was developed in 2006 by CEO Tom Katis and his team. Katis, an American veteran, would have wanted to improve the concept of a walkie-talkie after his experiences during the war in Afghanistan, so according to the court documents of the case concerned. Walkie Talkie’s communication system allows users to listen to live voice messages while the messages are being sent.