After a near five-year patent battle, Vancouver’s Destiny Media Technologies (TSX-V:DSY) and Yangaroo Inc. (TSX-V:YOO) have reached a settlement.
On Tuesday, Destiny, which specializes in music distribution technology, said Yangaroo had agreed to pay it $600,000 and grant Destiny certain intellectual property rights related to two Yangaroo patents.
The battle between the companies dates back to 2006, when Destiny, which operated primarily in the U.S., entered the Yangaroo-dominated Canadian market.
Multiple court actions have ensued, but the original clash centred on who owned the patent rights for decryption and decoding processes in each company’s software. (See “Destiny Media’s potential patent approval reignites rivalry with Toronto competitor” – issue 990; October 14-20, 2008.)
According to a statement issued by Destiny, the companies have agreed that all allegations of patent infringement and invalidity “will immediately cease.”
Destiny has agreed to drop its Canadian patent invalidity proceedings and its defamation action against Yangaroo and some of its former officers.
Similarly, Yangaroo has agreed to drop its counterclaim for patent infringement in Canada and its defamation counterclaim against Destiny and its CEO Steve Vestergaard.
Destiny said the settlement does not affect its operations in any way, adding that neither party will pursue legal fees, court costs or royalties related to the disputes.
The company could not be reached for comment, but in a statement said it was “pleased” with the result.
At press time, Destiny’s shares were valued at $0.38.
Joel McKay
Twitter: jmckaybiv