Equity Briefing : Eminent Markman Ruling Provides Near Term Catalyst for Vringo, Inc.

An upcoming Markman ruling has Vringo, Inc. (VRNG) investors and speculators eyeing headlines for important news due at any time during the next 30 days.

In Vringo`s patent infringement case against Google (GOOG), AOL, Inc.(AOL), IAC/InterActiveCorp.  (IACI), Target Corporation (TGT),and Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI) in the Eastern District of Virginia, the asserted patents cover the ranking of Google`s advertising search results based on content relevance and click-through rates. This strikes at the core of Google`s revenues according to the complaint filed.  

Patents #6,314, 420 and #6,775,664 were acquired from Lycos by Innovate Protect which has signed a definitive merger agreement with Vringo. The merger is expected to close on July 12, 2012.

The case has drawn significant attention from investors and journalists. Most notably, billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has purchased a significant stake and is reported to be the company`s largest shareholder. Cuban made his fortune by selling his Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for $5.9 billion. Investors, programmer, entrepreneur and author, James Altucher wrote about Vringo`s claims against Google in an article titled, "Why Google Might Be Going to $0" as did Chuck Salter from Fast company in "Vringo`s Patent Suit to Become a Multimillion-Dollar Bout Between Google and Mark Cuban. 

According to several publications, a settlement in favor of Vringo could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in while a win could top over into the billions of dollars, but investors will have to wait until October 16, 2012 when Vringo is scheduled to go to trial.

Speculators, on the other hand have begun to take positions as a recent positive Markman ruling for VirnetX Holding Corporation (VHC) sent that company`s shares soaring from $22 to $35 with a market cap increase of over $600 million dollars.