Wilmington, DE - Nov 14, 2011 - The U.S. District Court for Delaware issued a stay in the pending lawsuit filed by Mission Abstract Data (MAD) against CBS, Beasley, Cox, Cumulus and Entercom for patent infringement in the technology used in common radio station automation systems. The group owners (the defendants) filed for the stay.

The group owners asked for the stay pending the reexamination of the patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In late October 2011, the U.S. PTO dismissed several aspects of the MAD claim as they applied to the technology used by radio stations. The Delaware judge, Leonard P. Stark, still feels the U.S. PTO could rule in favor of MAD. The stay allows the U.S. PTO time to complete its review (even though much of thepatent claims has been rejected already).

The stay orders the defendants to provide their evidence of non-infringement to MAD by Nov. 17, 2011. MAD must then reply to the group owners by Nov. 18, 2011.

The stay does not terminate the proceeding in Delaware. The court order states that information sharing between the two parties (called "discovery" in legal terms) must be complete by May 2012.

Read the court ruling.