A federal judge has ruled in favor of Sony Corp in a long-running case, overturning a jury verdict for L-3 Communications Corp [LLLCO.UL] and invalidating several parts of an image sensor patent held by the defense contractor. Judge Richard Andrews of the U.S. District Court in Delaware said on Friday that the jury in 2013 was wrong to find L-3's patent claims were not "obvious," a key criteria to ensure an invention is sufficiently unique to be patented.