Akamai, MIT hit Limelight with patent suit
Companies are rivals in Net content delivery
Akamai Technologies Inc. of Cambridge and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have filed a patent infringement suit against Limelight Networks Inc., an Arizona company that competes with Akamai in the Internet content-delivery business.
The suit, filed in late June, charges that Limelight has violated two patents filed in 1999 and 2000 by MIT computer scientists Thomas Leighton and Daniel Lewin. MIT holds the patents, but granted an exclusive license to Akamai, a company founded by Leighton and Lewin to exploit their inventions.
Akamai is seeking unspecified damages, as well as a permanent injunction against Limelight to halt the alleged infringement.
``The lawsuit is without merit," said Michael Gordon, Limelight's chief strategy officer. ``We do not infringe the patents in question." Officials of Akamai and MIT declined to comment.
Akamai was among the first Internet content-delivery companies. It operates a network of computer servers around the world that store copies of data from the world's most popular websites, such as the website of TV news network CNN. By storing a copy of its data in, say, London, a company can deliver Web pages to British readers faster and at less cost. Companies buy the Akamai service because it's cheaper than building their own worldwide server networks.
Limelight works on the same principle, but with a greater emphasis on delivery of Internet video, audio, and games. Microsoft Corp. uses Limelight to deliver gaming content over its Xbox Live videogame network. Privately held Limelight reported revenue of $10 million for the first quarter of 2006, three times higher than last year.
The lawsuit says that Limelight infringed two of Akamai's most basic patents. They cover software that enables the network to capture data from a website, then copy it to an unlimited number of servers around the world. The patents also describe a method for capturing photos and other images so that they can be served up by a content delivery network while text is delivered by the original website.
Last year, Akamai spent $130 million to acquire Speedera Networks of Santa Clara, Calif., after a three-year legal dispute in which Akamai accused Speedera of stealing its trade secrets. Akamai has also been a target of patent infringement lawsuits from the British telecom firm Cable & Wireless PLC, Teknowledge Corp ., and Digital Island Inc. Akamai won the Digital Island case, and reached settlements with Cable & Wireless and Teknowledge.
Akamai shares rose $1.28 yesterday, to close at $32.54 on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com. 