The judge at the US District court has rejected Google’s plea for summary judgment in a patent dispute with mobile phone software maker Vringo.
The denial follows judge’s findings that the dispute comprised issues of fact that are material and that settlement negotiations should move ahead as planned for 09 October 2012.
U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson said: "Having carefully reviewed the parties’ pleadings, the court finds that summary judgment is inappropriate at this time as there are genuine issues of material fact in dispute."
The search engine giant was sued by Innovate/Protect, which was acquired by Vringo in July 2012, and Vringo is expecting about $696m in damages.
The patents were related to use of Innovate/Protect Engine’s technology on various websites to offer advertising and search services.
In addition to Google, Innovate/Protect had also sued AOL among others for patent infringement, while AOL settled a part of the infringement dispute in August 2012.
Vringo has also purchased a range of patents from Nokia in August 2012.
