It's not over till it's over -- at least in the case of Cornell v. Hewlett-Packard (HP).

In the latest developments in the eight-year legal battle, a federal court has affirmed the jury's findings in a trial last May that HP "infringed" a "valid" and valuable patent belonging to Cornell. In rulings issued March 30, U.S. District Judge Randall Rader also rejected other HP defenses. He concluded that Cornell was justified in delaying filing its lawsuit against HP until licensing discussions with the company were exhausted, and that the Cornell inventor acted properly in his dealings with the federal patent office.

Rader, however, has reduced by about two-thirds the damages HP must pay Cornell in the patent dispute the company lost in 2008. He said HP owes Cornell $53 million, rather than the $184 million the Syracuse federal court jury awarded the university in 2008. The judge said he reduced the damages because HP made less money from infringing on the Cornell patent than Cornell had claimed, and the court had incorrectly calculated the damages, according to Bloomberg News.

HP has filed an appeal in the case.

Cornell sued HP in 2001, asserting the company's computer processers used a device that Cornell had patented in 1989. The technology enables microprocessors to work faster by executing multiple instructions simultaneously rather than one at a time. H.C. Torng, professor emeritus of electrical and computer engineering, invented the device in 1982. HP had claimed it had developed its own technology to achieve the same purpose.

Cornell lawyers declined to comment on the court's ruling affirming HP's liability, its decision to reduce damages or HP's appeal.