HOUSTON, July 10, 2015—The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently affirmed the 2014 judgment that ION Geophysical Corp. infringed four seminal WesternGeco LLP patents covering streamer steering technology for marine seismic surveys, and that WesternGeco is the rightful owner of the pioneering technology. 

In 2009, WesternGeco filed suit for patent infringement against ION's DigiFIN streamer steering system in U.S. federal court in Houston, Texas. ION was found to infringe one patent on summary judgment, and a 2012 jury found that ION infringed three more WesternGeco patents and rejected all of ION's invalidity arguments.

The trial court affirmed the jury's verdict, awarded WesternGeco supplemental damages and permanently enjoined ION from continuing to infringe with the DigiFIN system. ION's appeal challenged the infringement finding and whether WesternGeco was the rightful owner of the steering technology. The Federal Circuit's ruling rejected these challenges, reversed the calculations of some aspects of ION's damages and remanded the case back to the trial court for further damages proceedings.

“WesternGeco is pleased with the verdict as it reaffirms our commitment to technological innovation and the strength of our intellectual property has again been validated, and that the injunction barring ION's further violations of that property remains in force,” said Tony Bowman, president, WesternGeco. “We invest heavily in technology and aggressively protect the underlying intellectual property to ensure shareholders receive the benefit of the investment.”

About Schlumberger

Schlumberger is the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry worldwide. Employing approximately 115,000 people representing over 140 nationalities and working in more than 85 countries, Schlumberger provides the industry’s widest range of products and services from exploration through production.

Schlumberger Limited has principal offices in Paris, Houston, London, and The Hague, and reported revenues of $48.58 billion in 2014. For more information, visit www.slb.com.

For further information, contact: