By Blake Brittain

Dec 16 - IBM IBM.N has agreed to settle a patent lawsuit against Zynga after it won a $45 million jury verdict against the mobile game maker earlier this year, according to a filing in Delaware federal court.

IBM and Zynga told the court on Friday that they had reached a settlement in principle and asked to pause the case while they finalize it. Spokespeople and attorneys for the companies did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment and more information about the settlement.

Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM sued Zynga in 2022 for allegedly infringing patents covering "foundational" internet technology, some of which it developed for its late-1980s internet service Prodigy. IBM also filed and later resolved lawsuits against other internet-based companies, including Chewy, Rakuten and Groupon, over related technology.

In September, a Delaware jury determined that Zynga games, including entries from its "Farmville" series, infringed two IBM patents related to web-based communications. The jury awarded IBM $44.9 million in damages.

Zynga had denied the allegations and argued that the patents were invalid. It asked the court in October to throw out the verdict or hold a new trial.

The case is International Business Machines Corp v. Zynga Inc, U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, No. 1:22-cv-00590.

For IBM: John Desmarais, Karim Oussayef, Tamir Packin and Tuhin Ganguly of Desmarais LLP

For Zynga: Alyssa Caridis, Clement Roberts and Richard Martinelli of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe

Read more:

IBM sues online-game maker Zynga over internet patents

IBM wins $45 mln verdict against Zynga in internet tech patent trial

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)