01 Communique shares spike after victory over Citrix

Shares of 01 Communique (01 Communique Stock Quote, Chart, News: TSXV:ONE) are up sharply today after the company on Friday announced it had received a favourable hearing in its Markman Hearing against Citrix, backing up the company’s claim that Citrix’s GoToMyPC product has been infringing on 01’s “479” patent.

“We are pleased with the results of this Markman order,” said CEO Andrew Cheung. “This is another positive step forward in our lawsuit against Citrix and follows the recently received inter partes re-examination certificate. We remain confident in the merits of our case and are looking forward to our day in court.”

A “Markman Hearing”, aims to determine the use of relevant key words in a patent claim. The procedure has become commonplace in the U.S. Supreme Court since the 1996 case of Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., found that the language of a patent is a matter of law for a judge, not a jury, to decide.

01 Communique management says it now expects a scheduling conference will take place to set dates regarding filing and/or renewing dispositive motions, trial preparation and ultimately, a trial.

In 2013, analyst Ralph Garcea estimated that Citrix has generated more than $1.7-billion in online services revenue, which includes products such as GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC, since 2006, and that more than 70% of that could be infringing on 01 Commmunique’s “479” patent.

At press time, shares of 01 Communique were up 43.3% to $0.43.