Meta fined for copyright infringement for 'Facebook Live'

 A US jury has ordered Facebook-owned company 'Meta' to pay $175.4 million for infringing the rights of a live streaming service created by a US military veteran.

According to French news agency AFP, the trial in Texas federal court ended with judges ruling that the "Live" features in Facebook and Instagram use Voxer's patented technology.

Legal documents show that a company called Voxer was co-founded by Tom Cates.

"We believe the evidence at trial shows that Meta did not infringe Voxer's patents," a company spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

He said that we intend to get more relief including filing an appeal.

Cates was re-enlisted in the Army after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States and served as a Special Forces communications sergeant in Afghanistan.

"When his combat unit was ambushed in Kannada province, he found himself unsuited to deploying large numbers of troops, conducting medical evacuations and other time-sensitive communications," the lawsuit said. was.'

"Cats and his team began developing communications solutions in 2006 to address these flaws," his lawyers said. New technology made it possible to transmit voice and video instantly with live communication.

Facebook approached San Francisco-based Voxer about a possible collaboration after launching the 'walkie-talkie' app in 2011, but no deal was struck, according to legal documents.

The suit says that in the absence of a contract, Facebook launched 'Facebook Live' and 'Instagram Live', which features Voxer technology.