NFC Times Exclusive Insight – A U.S. district court judge has ruled that T-Mobile USA infringed an NFC patent held by Israel-based On Track Innovations.

District Judge Alison J. Nathan of the Southern District of New York granted a motion for summary judgment, which OTI had filed in 2014, ruling that T-Mobile USA had infringed OTI’s U.S. Patent No. 6,045,043 by selling NFC-enabled handsets. The ruling means that when the case goes to trial before a jury, T-Mobile will not be able to argue that it did not infringe OTI’s patent. Nathan will instruct the jury that patent infringement did take place, according to a statement from OTI.

OTI’s lawyers had submitted the motion for summary judgment earlier in 2014, with oral arguments taking place later that year.