Intellectual Property Company Vringo Is Getting Wiped Out After Losing Patent Case Against Google And AOL

Shares of Vringo were down more than 70% to $0.90 per share on Friday after announcing that a Federal Appeals Court reversed a ruling finding that AOL and Google, among others, infringed on patents held by one of its subsidiaries.

This case dates back to November 2012, when the same District Court in Norfolk, Virginia found that AOL, Google, IAC, Target, and Gannett infringed on patents held by Vringo's subsidiary I/P Engine.

Friday's ruling overturned a jury verdict, and Vringo said it is, "evaluating its options with respect to the case." Before Friday's drop, Vringo's market cap was around $290 million, but at $0.90 a share the company is worth around $83 million.

Vringo shares rallied in January after a U.S. District Court awarded the company a 6.5% royalty rate from Google for patents the search engine giant was found to have infringed through its AdWords system.

Here's the full announcement from Vringo:

NEW YORK - August 15, 2014 - Vringo, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG) today announced that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the jury's verdict and held that the asserted claims of the patents-in-suit in the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary I/P Engine's litigation against AOL Inc., Google Inc. et al. are invalid for obviousness. The Company is evaluating its options with respect to the case.

Here's a chart of trade in Vringo on Friday. That's called falling off a cliff.