Blue Spike Sues Facebook over Anti-Piracy Techniques

Case Summary:

Blue Spike, a Texas-based content management and applied security solutions company sued Facebook in District Court of Texas on July 17, 2014 claiming that four patents related to monitoring and analyzing signals were infringed.

Patents-in-Suit:

The patents involved in the suitwere: US7346472, US7660700, US7949494 and US8214175 all entitled ‘Method and device for monitoring and analyzing signals,’ issued on Mar 18, 2008, Feb 09, 2010, May, 24, 2011 and Jul 07, 2012, respectively. The ‘472 patent expires* on Sep 07, 2020 and the ‘700, ‘494 and ’175 patents expire* on Dec 26, 2027. Blue Spike is the current assignee+ of the patents (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database). The patents describe methods and devices that relate to signal recognition to enhance identification and monitoring activities.

As in Complaint:

Moskowitz is an inventor and CEO of Blue Spike. According to the complaint, Moskowitz pioneers and continues to invent technology that allow copyright owners to more easily identify pirated songs, movies, TV shows and other forms of digital media. The patents-in-suit comprise signal fingerprinting, acoustic fingerprinting, or robust hash functions techniques for combating piracy, which are completely undetectable to the thief, yet still enable content owners to easily search through large amounts of data to identify unauthorized copies of their works.

The complaint also stated that these patents were forward-cited in at least 50 U.S.-issued patents, including patents originally assigned to such prominent companies as Microsoft, Harmonix Music Systems, Digimarc, Agilent Technologies, Nvidia and Avaya.

Accused Products and Services:

Defendant manufactures products, systems and/or services including facial recognition software including Tag Suggestion feature, which infringe one or more claims of the patents-in-suit.

Alleged Infringement:

Facebook without license or permission from Blue Spike has infringed one or more claims of the patents by importing, making, using, offering for sale, or selling products and devices that embody the patented invention.

Other Case:

Since 2012, Blue Spike filed more than 100 suits and this is one of 3 cases filed this month. Other Blue Spike defendants include: Shazam, BIO-key International, Google, Adobe, Yahoo, Rovi, NEC, Nielsen, Myspace and Metacafe.

See 6:14-cv-00618 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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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.

Duchesnay Sues Actavis, Charging Patent Violations

Case Summary:

Canada-based pharmaceutical company Duchesnay filed a suit against Dublin headquartered generic maker, Actavis on July 11, 2014, in the New Jersey District seeking to prevent Actavis from commercializing its ANDA product prior to the expiration of Duchesnay’s patent US6340695 entitled ‘Rapid onset formulation’. This action formally initiates the patent challenge process under the Hatch-Waxman Act, which grants a 30-month stay to drug companies that file suit against generic manufactures challenging their patents.

The patent was issued by USPTO to inventor Eric Gervais on Jan 22, 2002 and expires[i] by Jun 21, 2021. Duchesnay is the current assignee[ii] of the ‘695 patent (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database).

Actavis filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) no. 205811 with the FDA seeking approval to market doxylamines and pyridoxine hydrochloride delayed-release tablets, 10 mg/10 mg. The complaint futher added that Actavis’s generic product labeled the same indications and dosage as the drug, Diclegis.

Duchesnay is the current holder[iii] of Diclegis (source: Patent Marker) with NDA no. 021876, approved by FDA on Apr 08, 2013. The active ingredients of the drug include: doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride.

Duchesnay alleged that Actavis' ANDA product is a generic version of Duchesnay‘s Diclegis, which is indicated for the treatment of nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in women who do not respond to conservative management.

See 2:14-cv-04384 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

[iii] Patent Marker provides an online environment where patentees can virtually mark products and search products for patent-related information.

BlackBerry Accused of Violating Media Patent

Case Summary:

Texas-based patent holding company, Affinity Labs filed suit against Blackberry, formerly known as Research in Motion accusing them of infringing an U.S patent disclosing the ability to download music and playlists from an online store or stream internet radio to a portable electronic device and then connect it to a second device. The patent suit was filed in Northern District of California in Jul 07, 2014 and Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is the judge assigned to this case.

Patent-in-Suit:

The patent at issue is: US8532641 entitled ‘System and method for managing media,’ issued on Sep 10, 2013 and expiring[i] by Sep 23, 2024. Affinity Labs is owner and holds legal right to the ‘641 patent. The disclosed embodiments of the ‘641 patent allow a radio listener to create a personal playlist and to listen to the playlist in a wireless atmosphere.

As in Complaint:

Affinity Labs was co-founded by an inventor, Mr. White in 2008, who filed the parent 09/537,812 application that the ‘612 patent claims priority to, before iPod was released and 3 years before the iTunes Store sold its first song. Other patents in the ’641 patent family have been cited by major corporations such as Apple, AT&T, Toyota, Google, Nokia, Bose, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Volkswagen, etc.

Affinity Labs alleged that Blackberry infringed by manufacturing, marketing and using Blackberry smartphones including Blackberry Z10 the audio systems and methods claimed in the ’641 patent. Blackberry’s smartphones have the ability to connect to a separate electronic device having a screen through use of wireless communication module, allowing a user to select songs stored on the smartphone for playback via that separate electronic device.

The complaint sought royalty bearing compulsory license and award damages in an amount adequate to compensate Affinity Labs for Blackberry’s infringement of the ’641 patent and that the damages be trebled.

Other Cases by Affinity Labs:

Affinity Labs has filed more than 30 cases against companies alleging infringement on its audio and media patents.

See 4:14-cv-03031 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

Warner Chilcott Appeals District Court’s Judgment Favoring Lupin

Case Filed: Jul 02, 2014

Origin Case: 3:11-cv-07228

Case Summary:

Puerto Rico-based pharmaceutical company, Warner Chilcott, now a subsidiary of Actavis, filed a complaint against India-based generic drug maker, Lupin as a result of the latter filing ANDA seeking approval to market a generic version of Generess^TM Fe, before expiration of  US patent covering use of the drug. The suit was originally filed in New Jersey District Court in Dec 2011. The case is currently open in Appeal court concerning the district court’s judgment against Warner Chilcott.

Patent-in-Suit:

The patent in suit is: US6667050 entitled ‘Chewable oral contraceptive,’ issued on Dec 23, 2003 and expires[i] by Jun 12, 2021. Warner Chilcott is the current assignee[ii] of the patent (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database). The ‘050 patent relates to an oral contraceptive delivery system involving alternate dosages to improve compliance.

As in Complaint:

Warner Chilcott alleged that Lupin submitted to the FDA an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) no. 20-3448 to obtain approval to engage in the commercial manufacture, use, or sale of a generic version of Generess^TM Fe. Lupin have notified FDA and Warner Chilcott that the ‘050 patent is purportedly invalid, unenforceable and/or will not be infringed by the manufacture of the ANDA product.

NDA Holder:

Watson, another subsidiary of Actavis, is the holder of New Drug Application (NDA) no. 22-573 for Generess^TM Fe, which contains the active ingredients, norethindrone and ethinyl estradiol. The drug was approved by the FDA in Dec 2010 and is indicated for the prevention of pregnancy in women.

Generess™ Fe:

Generess^TM Fe is sold as a 28-day oral contraceptive regimen that includes 24 chewable tablets comprising 0.8 mg norethindrone and 0.025 mg ethinyl estradiol and 4 chewable ferrous fumarate tablets (placebo).

District Court Judgment:

A bench trial was held in Jan as well as in Feb 2014 and as a result, judgment was entered in Apr favoring defendant’s counterclaims of non-infringement. Additionally, the ‘050 patent was declared invalid as obvious.

See 2014-1582 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

Actavis, Novartis Resolve Patent Dispute over Iron-Control Drug Patents

Case Filed: Mar 21, 2012

Case Closed: Apr 29, 2014

Court: Delaware District Court

Judge: Richard G. Andrews

Case Summary:

Novartis, based in Basel, Switzerland sued generic-drug maker Actavis of Zug, Switzerland, alleging infringement of two U.S. patents, which Novartis listed as covering the iron-control drug, Exjade. The lawsuit concerned Actavis filing  an ANDA seeking approval to market a generic version of Exjade, deferasirox in tablet form.

The patents at issue were: US6465504 and US6596750 both reading ‘Substituted 3, 5-diphenyl-1,2,4-triazoles and their use as pharmaceutical metal chelators’. The patents were issued on Oct 15, 2002 and July 22, 2003, respectively. The patents are set to expire[i] by Jun 25, 2016 and are currently assigned[ii] to Novartis (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database).

The complaint alleged that Actavis Group acted collaboratively in the preparation and submission of ANDA No. 203560. By filing ANDA, Actavis has represented that its generics have the same active ingredient and are bioequivalent to Exjade®. In the notice letter, Actavis had told Novartis its patents “are invalid, unenforceable.”

Novartis is the current holder[iii] of New Drug Application (NDA) No. 21-882, which the FDA granted approval for marketing and sale of 125 mg, 250 mg and 500 mg strength deferasirox tablets, oral suspension (source: Patent Marker.) Novartis markets deferasirox tablets in the United States under the trade name Exjade®. It is used to treat patients with chronic anemia disorders who get blood transfusions that result in an excess of iron, which may cause damage to the heart, liver and other organs.

According to the complaint, the composition, formulation, dosing and method of administration for Exjade® are covered by certain claims of the ’504 and’750 patents.

Stipulation and order of dismissal was filed by Novartis in which it stated that both the parties stipulate and agree to dismiss all the claims and counterclaims, defenses, motions and petitions asserted in this action without prejudice and each party shall bear its own costs and attorneys' fees. Accordingly, Court granted the stipulation, thereby ending the dispute.

See 1:12-cv-00366 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

[iii] Patent Marker provides an online environment where patentees can virtually mark products and search products for patent-related information.

Symantec, eDekka Settle IP Suit over Shopping Cart Functionality

Case Filed: Nov 20, 2013

Case Closed: Apr 22, 2014

Court: Texas Eastern District Court

Judge: Rodney Gilstrap

Case Summary:

Plano, Texas-based non-practicing entity, eDekka filed a patent infringement suit accusing Symantec of violating patent rights. The suit concerned the company’s website's use of "shopping cart" functionality which eDekka claims as their technology. The patent involved in the suit is: US6266674 entitled ‘Random access information retrieval utilizing user-defined labels,’ originally assigned to inventor Donald J Hejna Jr. on Jul 24, 2001 and expiring[i] by Jul 24, 2018.

The ‘674 patent is currently assigned[ii] to eDekka (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database). According to the complaint, the ‘674 patent has been forward-cited as prior art in connection with the examination of several subsequently-issued U.S. patents, including patents originally assigned to such prominent technology companies as Verizon Patent And Licensing Inc., Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corp., and Agilent Technologies, Inc.

The patented technology relates to a method of storing information wherein a user defines labels which relate to the stored information and the user defines a data structure.

eDekka alleged that Symantec has infringed the ‘674 patent by actions including making and/or using one or more websites with “shopping cart” functionality in their website www.symantec.com as well as associated sub-sites, web pages and functionality within that website. eDekka claimed monetary damages and enjoinment of defendant’s infringing activities as it caused irreparable harm.

The Court considered the agreed motion for dismissal of all claims between eDekka and Symantec, thereby ordering all claims dismissed with prejudice, with each party to bear its own costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees.

See 2:13-cv-00984 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

Roxane Face Patent Infringement Suit over Uloric Generic

Teijin and Takeda together launched a complaint on Feb 12, 2014 against Roxane, a generic drug manufacturer accusing the latter of infringing a patent owned by Teijin. The lawsuit concerned the filing of an abbreviated new drug application with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for febuxostat tablets, 40 and 80 mg. This product is a generic version of Uloric®, which is indicated for the chronic management of hyperuricemia in patients with gout. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

According to the plaintiffs, the 40 and 80 mg tablets of generic febuxostat planned for release by Roxane infringe the patent US6225474, licensed by Teijin to its subsidiary Takeda for use in Uloric. The patent covers the method used to produce the drug's active ingredient “febuxostat”.

The patent entitled ‘Polymorphs of 2-(3-cyano-4-isobutyloxyphenyl)-4-methyl-5-thiazolecarboxylic acid and method of producing the same’ was issued on May 01, 2001 and expires[i] by Jun 19, 2018. The patent is currently assigned[ii] to Teijin (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database).

Takeda is the current holder[iii] the new drug application no. 21856 approved by FDA for oral tablets containing 40 or 80 mg of the active ingredient febuxostat (source: Patent Marker). As per the complaint, Roxane plans to sell a generic version in the US prior to expiration of the patent.

Plaintiffs received written notifications from Roxane denying infringement of the patent and asserting invalidity, according to the complaint.

Plaintiffs requested Court to order that the effective date of approval of Roxane’s ANDA be a date that is not earlier than the expiration of patent term.

See 1:14-cv-00189 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 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

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[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.

[iii] Patent Marker provides an online environment where patentees can virtually mark products and search products for patent-related information.

Max-Insight: One-Stop Patent Tools Access

MaxVal announces the release of the new product Max-Insight, which is a collection of patent tools. Max-Insight enables you to conveniently access these tools in one location, which is efficient and saves time in managing patent related activities. Max-Insight includes the following tools designed for analyzing patent portfolios and performing administrative tasks relating to patents:

Patent Term Estimator

Patent Family Tree

USPTO Widget

IDS Generator

Claim Chart Generator

Claim Set Comparison Tool

Reference Annotator

Patent Maintenance Fee

Reference Picker

IFW File Splitter

Foreign Filing Fee Calculator

Has This Patent Been Litigated?

Patent PDF Extractor (OCR)

Max-Insight is available in 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about the subscriptions plans, click here.

About MaxVal

MaxVal was founded in 2004 by a patent attorney to provide comprehensive intellectual property services covering the entire patent lifecycle. MaxVal is based out of Los Altos, USA and has offices in Coimbatore and Chennai in India. Our staff include patent attorneys, patent agents, software developers, domain specialists and database experts, and we pride ourselves in providing cost-efficient services to our clients.

With firsthand experience in innovation, IP management and monetization, as well as deep legal expertise, we offer invention analysis (including patentability), patent filing and prosecution in India, US and other countries (through our partners). 

To learn more about us, please visit www.maxval.com or email us at info@maxval.com.

Data Engine Asks Court to Dismiss IP Suit against SAS over IDE Applications

Case Filed: Aug 05, 2013

Case Closed: Jan 22, 2014

Judge: Leonard Davis

Case Summary:

A patent infringement suit was filed in Texas Eastern District Court by Data Engine Technologies against SAS Institute involving the patents:

•     US6237135 entitled ‘Development system with visual design tools for creating and maintaining Java Beans components’, which issued on May 22, 2001 and expiring* by Sep 11, 2018
•     US5461708 entitled ‘Systems and methods for automated graphing of spreadsheet information’, which issued on Oct 24, 1995 and expired* on Aug 06, 2013

The patents are currently/last assigned+ to Borland Software Corporation (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database).

The complaint said, SAS directly infringed by making, using, licensing, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing software, including the software applications SAS AppDev Studio, Enterprise Guide, Visual Analytics, and ODS Graphics covered by one or more method claims of the ’135 and ‘708 patents, all to the injury of Data Engine. It was further stated that SAS had knowledge of the patents-in-suit and written notice of infringement.

In consideration of Data Engine’s filing of notice of voluntary dismissal, the Court dismissed all claims against SAS Institute Inc. without prejudice, thereby ending the litigation.

See 6:13-cv-00579 for more details. To get alerts on cases filed/closed, subscribe to our Litigation Alerts.

* Expected expiration date using Patent Term Estimator, use our free tool or download our free Android app on Google Play Store.  

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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.

Patent Tools Revamped with New Features

In line with our mission to offer the most up-to-date services to our clients, we are pleased to inform you of new releases and upgrades to Patent Tools. The new services and upgrades are intended to strengthen and enhance the usability of the tools and to enable simple, fast and reliable access to patent information.

• A new tool, Patent PDF Extractor allows free downloading of PDFs for multiple patent numbers at a time (maximum 20) and can be OCR’d at $2.99/PDF.
• Patent Term Estimator now features calculating the term of re-issue patents. Android app of Patent Term Estimator is now available in Google Play Store.  
• A new faster version of Patent Family Tree Generator (PFTG) with static URL for each representation is now available.

Please visit our Patent Tools page at http://www.maxval.com/patent-tools.html and let us know your feedback or comments.