The two big media CDNs Akamai and Limelight, both locked in an ugly patent lawsuit, have finally seen some preliminary movement in the case: the judge in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts rejected the notion that Akamai could patent the way files were delivered over the Internet, reports LightReading. The court said that Akamai was trying to patent the process, not the technology and rejected the claim. Limelight’s shares climbed about 27 percent on Friday after the ruling, though they were down about 4 percent today.

The case is complex, so if someone else understands the ruling better, let us know. The full prelim ruling is here as a PDF.

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