It was the first case that Intellectual Ventures (IV) had taken all the way to trial since the patent assertion entity’s inception 14 years ago…and after a trial of nearly two weeks and only one day of jury deliberation, it was over without a resolution. Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson declared a mistrial after jurors found that they could not agree unanimously on the first of three infringement cases that IV had brought against Google-owned Motorola Mobility on smartphone technology–related patents. At trial, Motorola argued that IV’s patents are invalid, since the technology in question is a recognized standard in the industry and the plaintiffs were merely using their patent holdings to make “overbroad…claims meant to tax innovation” rather than actually create anything new. This latter argument has been the rallying cry of others in the technology industry, as well, who support Congress’ efforts to reform the software patent application and litigation processes. Lamenting that it is often misunderstood, IV is sticking to its claim that it is not like those “patent trolls” targeted by such reforms, in that it does not bring frivolous lawsuits and is legitimately defending the high-quality patents it has conscientiously acquired. As such, IV strongly cautions against any drastic Congressional measures that it fears will weaken patent owners’ rights.
IV has purchased tens of thousands of IP assets over time, funded both by its many out-of-court settlements and by the nearly $6 billion from investors believing in its business model. Ironically, Google itself was a financier of one of IV’s early patent acquisition funds. While Google has seemingly lived to regret that decision, IV is hoping for a retrial on this case, and is looking forward to the next two trials against Motorola Mobility later this year.
IV has purchased tens of thousands of IP assets over time, funded both by its many out-of-court settlements and by the nearly $6 billion from investors believing in its business model. Ironically, Google itself was a financier of one of IV’s early patent acquisition funds. While Google has seemingly lived to regret that decision, IV is hoping for a retrial on this case, and is looking forward to the next two trials against Motorola Mobility later this year.