Vringo shares hit all-time high after court ruling

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Vringo Inc., which buys and licenses patents, shot up Thursday after a favorable court ruling.

THE SPARK: On Thursday, Judge Raymond Jackson at the federal district court in Norfolk, Va., declined Google Inc.'s request to throw out Vringo's patent suit against Google Inc., AOL Inc., IAC/InteractiveCorp, Target Corp. and Gannett Co.

THE BIG PICTURE: The suit deals with two patents originally belonging to search engine Lycos. Vringo acquired them by buying I/P Engine in July. The patents describe basic search engine functions. Google wanted Vringo's suit thrown out because other, earlier patents cover the same invention.

The trial in the case is set to start Oct. 16.

SHARE ACTION: Vringo shares jumped 97 cents, or 23 percent, to $5.27 in afternoon trading. The shares hit $5.55 earlier in the day, the highest level since the company went public two years ago.