Case Filed: May 07, 2013
Case Closed: May 27, 2014
Origin Case: 1:12-cv-00625
Case Summary:
Bridgewater, New Jersey-based
company, Suffolk Technologies filed case against Google and AOL accusing them
of infringing two BT patents that have been assigned to Suffolk. The patent
infringement suit concerned the use of "snippet" technology by Google
and AOL where a customized summary is generated for a person conducting a
search on the Internet. The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of
Virginia in Jun 2012.
Patents-in-suit:
The patents involved in the suit
were:
- US6081835 entitled ‘Internet server and method of controlling an internet server,’ issued on Jun 27, 2000 and expires* by Apr 04, 2016
- US6334132 entitled ‘Method and apparatus for creating a customized summary of text by selection of sub-sections thereof ranked by comparison to target data items,’ issued on Dec 25, 2001 and expires* by Apr 16, 2017
The patents are currently
assigned± to Suffolk Technologies and were
originally issued to British Telecommunications Plc. (source: MaxVal’s Assignment
Database.)
The '835 patent provides a means
by which an Internet server determines whether a webpage requesting a file is
authorized to receive that file and customizes its file response in one of two
ways depending upon the identity of the requesting webpage. The ‘132 patent provides
a means by which a customized summary of a set of data responsive to a user's
search request is generated.
As in Complaint:
Suffolk alleged that Google's servers
and Google conducts the search for itself and AOL and returns a list of
webpages that Google calls a "snippet." A "snippet" is
selected text from the webpage that represents the content of the page.
It further alleged that Google
and AOL infringe the '835 patent by providing Internet advertising services to
selectively place paid advertisements for a company's product or service,
including AOL’s Advertising.com and Google’s
AdSense service.
Thus defendants made or adapted
the methods and services in a manner covered by the patents-in-suit with knowledge
as written notices were sent by Suffolk informing of the '835 and ‘132 patents.
Suffolk requested court to enter
a permanent injunction against Google and AOL from infringing the patents and
treble damages for willful infringement.
District Court Proceedings:
In Jan 2013, AOL was dismissed
with court ordering all claims and counterclaims dismissed with prejudice. In
Apr 2013, judgment was entered to dismiss the case with prejudice followed by final judgment, which was entered in
favor of Google. It was ordered that each party will bear its own fees and
costs. The order also stated that the parties can meet and confer to reach an
agreement on which the court will enter an appropriate Order.
Appeal
Court Opinion:
Suffolk appealed the summary
judgment issued by the district court that certain claims of the ‘835 patent are
invalid. Appeals court affirmed that the district court correctly construed the
claims and granted summary judgment of invalidity.
See 2013-1392
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*
Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator
is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and
expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.
± MaxVal
offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts
when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of
interest are recorded.
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