TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Patent Challenge Rebuffed by Appellate Court: Without comment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a San Francisco federal judge’s ruling that NTN Communications of Carlsbad cannot challenge Interactive Network Inc.’s patent on an interactive TV game system. Backed by Tele-Communications Inc., NBC and other major media firms, Interactive Network markets a system that lets viewers play along at home with sports events and game shows. NTN alleged that the San Jose firm stole the idea from it, but the decision upheld last week ruled that a previous out-of-court settlement barred NTN from raising the claim in court. Interactive Network’s stock closed at $3 on the Nasdaq market, down 18.75 cents; it traded at $12.25 a year ago.