MAZ Ends Patent Suit against Sony

Case Filed: May 16, 2014

Case Closed: Sep 02, 2014

Court: District of Delaware

Judge: Leonard P. Stark

Case Summary:

MAZ Encryption Technologies LLC (MAZ), engaged in developing software security products filed a patent suit against Sony Electronics Inc., a California based Delaware Corporation engaged in manufacturing of electronic products, accusing them of infringing upon one of Maz’s U.S patents.

Patent in suit:

Patent Number	Title	Issue Date	Expiration Date[i]	Current Assignee[ii]
US8359476	User authentication system and method for encryption and decryption	Jan 22, 2013	Mar 01, 2019	MAZ Encryption Technologies

The ‘476 patent relates to cryptographic systems and electronic document management systems. 

As in Complaint:

MAZ alleged that Sony has directly or indirectly infringed the ‘476 patent without permission or authority from it. MAZ also alleged that Sony is involved in various business activities such as making, using, selling, offering to sell its Sony VAIO products embodying the technology claimed in the ‘476 patent. The infringing aspects were indicated as Sony VAIO’s finger print software, sensor and biometric encryption systems.

MAZ adds that it has been damaged by the foregoing acts of infringement of its patents by the defendant and will continue to be damaged by such infringement unless enjoined by this Court.

District Court Judgment:

MAZ and Sony filed joint stipulation for dismissal and accordingly, Court ordered dismissal with prejudice of all claims and counterclaims asserted by the other party with all costs and fees to be incurred by the respective parties, thereby ending the dispute.

See 1:14-CV-00625 for more details. To get alerts on cases filed/closed, subscribe to our Litigation Alerts.

Max-Insight enables you to access all of our patent tools such as Patent Term Estimator, Patent Family Tree, Has This Patent Been Litigated, etc. in one location. Max-Insight is available in individual subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels, and enterprise access plans. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

---

[i] 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.

[ii] MaxVal offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.