A claim for direct patent infringement is adequately stated by following Form 18 attached to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. However, Form 18 does not set the standard for claims of indirect infringement (i.e., contributory infringement and inducing infringement); these claims must be evaluated against the standards established by the U.S. Supreme Court in the […]
Archive | June, 2012
Attempted CFAA Class-Action Claim Against Amazon Dismissed on Failure to Plead “Loss”
Plaintiffs seeking to bring a class action lawsuit against Amazon failed to allege a “loss” under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), 18 U.S.C. § 1030, by simply pleading that Amazon had taken and exploited, for financial gain, private information that the plaintiffs could not show had financial value to them. Del Vecchio v. Amazon.com, […]
Patent Marking Makes Patent Owner’s Allegation of Practicing Invention a Double-Edged Sword
After alleging that its product practiced the invention claimed in its patent, and having failed to properly mark that product, a patent owner found itself unable to pursue damages for alleged infringement before the date when the accused infringer received actual notice of the patent. Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. v. Sears Brands, LLC, No. […]
That Forum Selection Clause in Your Software License Matters
Here is a story to tell clients wondering why you are negotiating so hard over a seemingly mundane forum selection clause. An Illinois court, swayed in part by the fact that a paper software license had also been presented in a click-wrap agreement, enforced a forum selection clause in the license agreement that the plaintiff-licensee […]
Settlement Agreement Does Not Prevent Suit Against Microsoft Customers
There is a reason why parties negotiating settlement agreements in patent cases often devote considerable time and energy to negotiating language covering use of patented technology by the licensee’s customers and downstream users. Despite, or perhaps because of, this attention, disputes sometimes arise. Illustratively, Microsoft was recently denied summary judgment on its claim that Eolas […]
No Copyright Protection for Java APIs: A Win for Google
A significant statement of software copyright law has come in a very high-profile case: Java API packages were held not protectable under U.S. copyright law in Oracle America, Inc. v. Google, Inc., No. C 10-03561 WHA (N.D. Ca. May 31, 2012). The jury, having been told to “take for granted that the structure, sequence and […]