Patent troll gives up, can’t defend “matchmaking” patent under new law
Source: ArsTechnica
A patent troll called Lumen View Technology got stopped in its tracks last year after it sued Santa Barbara-based startup FindTheBest, then asked the company for a quick $50,000 settlement. It lost its case, and has now said it won't even bother appealing. <snip>
...the judge in the case ruled that it was nothing more than a computerized twist on an ancient idea. The patent delineated a process of having parties input preference data, and then an automated process of determining a good match. "Matchmakers have been doing this for millennia," wrote US District Judge Denise Cote in her order invalidating the patent. <snip>
"The United States Supreme Court in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank International has provided greater clarity on patentability in light of 35 U.S.C. §101," Lumen View's lawyer wrote in a September 12 motion indicating it would drop its appeal. "The parties respectfully make a request for dismissal as an efficient resolution of the instant appeal and to conserve judicial resources." <snip>
Things got worse for Lumen View when its lawsuit became the first case in the country to apply new fee-shifting standards created this year by the Supreme Court. In May, Cote ruled that Lumen View would have to pay FindTheBest's costs, as punishment for seeking a "nuisance settlement" and then threatening "full-scale litigation" with "protracted discovery."
Read more: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/lumen-view-gives-up-on-matchmaking-patent-cant-defend-it-under-new-law/
For an interesting article on some of the cases being impacted in this huge shift in patent enforceability, the link below might be a good read.
Alice is Killing The Trolls
It refers to the 'Alice Corp. v CLS Bank' ruling which is fast becoming a landmark decision for patent cases in the United States.
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The patent system now OBSTRUCTS progress rather than advancing progress as the Constitution intended.
