We are finally seeing results from a lawsuit that Nikon filed against Sigma in May 2011. A judgment was issued against Sigma last month in Tokyo District court, which awarded 1.5 billion Yen to Nikon (close to $15M USD).

The dispute centers a number of Sigma lenses using vibration reduction technology. Nikon originally sought the equivalent of close to $150M USD; however, the judgment stated that the damages was equivalent to 15% of the profits of the violating products earned by Sigma, cutting damages down from the max profits of 10.1 billion Yen.

This has to be quite the blow to Sigma. The company has been a roll lately with awesome lenses like the 24-105mm f/4 OS and 18-35mm f/1.8 lenses. Hopefully, Sigma’s operations won’t be negatively affected in a manner that would delay future lens releases and Sigma’s momentum will continue to gain traction as a solid third-party lens maker.

[via Nikon Rumors]