Sample patent litigation suitGood example of how complex these patent infringement cases are - claims, counter claims, willful infringement, discretion to increase the award, etc. No wonder it is so hard to peg a $$ amount to each settlement. This case took 17 months. Bet we see a few more big fish cough up the $$$s soon.
Ariba Wins Patent Case Against Emptoris
10/30/2008 9:10:01 AM - Business Wire
Emptoris Found to Infringe Key Patents for Electronic Auctions
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct 30, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
Ariba, Inc. (Nasdaq:ARBA), the leading spend management solutions provider, today announced that it has prevailed in a patent litigation suit against Emptoris, Inc. Yesterday, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas returned a verdict that Emptoris has willfully infringed an Ariba patent covering key functions for electronic auctions and found infringement on a second patent also pertaining to electronic auctions. The jury awarded Ariba $4.9 million in damages. Due to the finding of willful infringement of one of the patents, the court has discretion to increase the award related to that patent up to three times.
In addition, Emptoris voluntarily filed a request to dismiss with prejudice its own patent infringement case against Ariba which was pending in the same court in exchange for Ariba's agreement to dismiss its counterclaims in that case. The judge has granted this request and dismissed the action against Ariba in its entirety.
The verdict against Emptoris came at the end of a seven-day trial that began on October 20. Ariba initiated the suit in April 2007, asserting that Emptoris infringed its 6,499,018 and 6,216,114 patents covering, respectively, the use of individual bid ceilings and certain auction overtime rules in electronic auctions. In its verdict, the jury rejected Emptoris's claim that Ariba's patents were invalid.
"As the creator and leader of the spend management space, Ariba has deep intellectual property that enables us to provide world-class solutions to customers around the globe," said David Middler, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Ariba. "This verdict is a testament to the strength of our patented innovations in electronic auctions and sourcing and affirms our efforts to vigorously defend them against infringement."
The court will next consider Ariba's request for a permanent injunction prohibiting Emptoris from using the patented technologies within its solutions and Ariba's request to enhance the damage award due to the jury's willfulness finding. The court will also consider Emptoris' post-trial motions seeking to attack the verdict. A briefing schedule for these matters has been set for November. Emptoris may attempt to appeal any and all findings of the court
About Ariba, Inc.
Ariba, Inc. is the leading provider of spend management solutions to help companies realize rapid and sustainable bottom line results. Successful companies around the world in every industry use Ariba Spend Management(TM) software and services. Ariba can be contacted in the U.S. at 1.650.390.1000 or at www.ariba.com.