Adobe, Macromedia to Settle Patent Suits

Adobe Systems Inc. and rival Macromedia Inc. have agreed to settle patent lawsuits between the firms.

Terms were not disclosed.

A federal jury on May 10 ordered Adobe to pay Macromedia $4.91 million for patents covering computer graphics and sound-systems software.

A separate jury on May 2 returned a $2.82-million verdict against Macromedia for infringing Adobe’s patent to organize tools on a computer screen.

The patent cases between the companies began two years ago when Adobe sued Macromedia in federal court in Delaware. Macromedia filed its own patent-infringement suit last year against Adobe in federal court in San Francisco.

Adobe shares rose $1.12 to $25.61 and Macromedia shares rose 82 cents to $8.05, both on Nasdaq.