Sept 24 (Reuters) - AT&T ( T ) and Nokia

convinced a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to overturn a $166

million jury verdict against AT&T ( T ) for allegedly misusing

patented technology in its 4G/LTE and 5G wireless networks.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with

the telecom companies that AT&T's ( T ) networks using Nokia-made

equipment did not infringe two patents belonging to

patent-holding company Finesse Wireless.

Attorneys and spokespeople for Finesse did not immediately

respond to requests for comment on the decision. An AT&T ( T )

spokesperson referred a comment request to Nokia, which said in

a statement that the appeals court had "come to the right

conclusion."

Finesse, a Park City, Utah-based company owned by inventor

Francis Smith, sued AT&T ( T ) in 2021 for allegedly infringing

patents related to reducing wireless signal interference. Nokia,

which designed and made base stations used with AT&T's ( T ) networks,

intervened in the case later that year to contest Finesse's

claims.

Finesse has separately settled patent disputes with Ericsson

and Verizon Wireless.

A jury in Marshall, Texas, agreed with Finesse in 2023 that AT&T ( T )

infringed the patents and awarded it more than $166 million in

damages. The Federal Circuit on Wednesday reversed the verdict,

finding that the jury's infringement findings were not supported

by sufficient evidence.

The case is Finesse Wireless LLC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, U.S.

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 24-1039.

For Finesse: Paul Clement of Clement & Murphy

For AT&T ( T ) and Nokia: Jeffrey Lamken of MoloLamken

Read more:

AT&T ( T ) owes $166 mln for infringing mobile-network patents,

jury says

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington)