July 23 (Reuters) - A federal court in Marshall, Texas,

said on Wednesday that U.S. telecom company Verizon Wireless

must pay $175 million in damages for violating an

inventor's patent rights related to wireless communications

technology.

The jury's decision in favor of Headwater Research comes

just months after the firm secured a $278 million verdict in a

separate patent dispute against Samsung over

wireless technology, also in the same Marshall, Texas, federal

court.

Spokespeople for Verizon and attorneys for Headwater did not

immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday's

verdict.

Tyler, Texas-based Headwater was founded by scientist and

inventor Gregory Raleigh. Headwater said in its complaint in

2023 that its patented technology allows wireless devices to

"reduce data usage and network congestion, extend battery life

by decreasing power consumption, and enable users to stay

connected."

Headwater said it shared information about its technology

with Verizon under a non-disclosure agreement between 2009 and

2011. The complaint said that Verizon's mobile phones, tablets

and cellular networks infringed Headwater's patents.

Verizon denied the allegations and argued that the patents

were invalid.