BUSINESS BRIEFING / COURTS

DirecTV Group Inc. of El Segundo won a patent-infringement case brought in 2004 by Finisar Corp.

Finisar’s patent is invalid, a federal judge ruled in Beaumont, Texas. “Finisar shall take nothing from its claims� against DirecTV, U.S. District Judge Ron Clark wrote.

The dispute centered on technology that predicts which movies and shows pay-TV subscribers will request most and sends the programs to viewers on an announced schedule.

Finisar, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded $78.9 million on its claim after a 2006 jury trial, an amount increased by Clark to $117.3 million. In April 2008, an appeals court threw out the verdict and sent the case back for a new trial.