Federal Judge Upholds Lincoln National Patent

Lincoln National Corporation announced it has won a Federal court decision in its patent-infringement lawsuit against Transamerica Life Insurance Company.

The Federal District Court in Iowa has upheld a jury’s verdict in favor of Lincoln National Life Insurance Company involving a patent for a computer program the company uses for administering variable annuities. Lincoln National Life is a subsidiary of Lincoln National Fort Wayne, Ind.

In February, a jury rendered a verdict in favor of Lincoln National Life Insurance Company and against 3 subsidiaries of AEGON N.V., the Netherlands: Transamerica Life Insurance Co., Transamerica Financial Life Insurance Co. and Western Reserve Life Assurance Co. of Ohio.

The judge in the most recent ruling held that the jury in the case had reasonable grounds to hold that Lincoln’s patent “was not invalid,” according to Lincoln’s announcement.

The jury set damages for the infringement at $13.1 million. In addition, the judge entered enjoined Transamerica from infringing on the patent.