<div id="subtitle">Acacia Research says damages won in case against Yahoo have grown to $12.4 million</div><div><p>Acacia Research Corp., a company that buys and licenses patents, said Wednesday that a Texas court has raised the amount of damages it will get from Yahoo Inc. in a patent infringement ruling.</p><p>The company said the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas awarded it $12.4 million in a final judgment this week, up from a $6.6 million ruling last May.</p><p>Acacia said the higher figure accounts for willful infringement of its patent, which is related to backgrounds called IMVironments in Yahoo's instant messaging service, as well as interest.</p><p>Acacia shares rose 8 cents to $8.71 in afternoon trading, while Yahoo rose 32 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $15.49.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68396569&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2010  <a href="http://www.ap.org">AP News</a></div></div>