IBM Asks $167 Million in Lawsuit for Patent Infringement
On Monday, International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation asked a US jury for a $167 million award in a lawsuit. The lawsuit was about accusing the Groupon Inc, which is an e-commerce marketplace operator, for patent infringement.
John Desmarais, an IBM lawyer, told a jury in Delaware federal court that Groupon infringed patents which unfolding foundational e-commerce technology. This technology had a licensed between $20 million and $50 million to Alphabet Inc’s Google, Facebook, and Amazon.
“Most big companies have taken licenses to these patents. Groupon has not. The new kid on the block refuses to take responsibility for using these inventions,” Desmarais said.
Meanwhile, J. David Hadden, Groupon lawyer argued that International Business Machines overread its patent’s s scope. And he added that the company is claiming ownership of the internet’s building blocks.
“A key question for you, in this case, is whether these patents cover the world wide web. They do not and that is because IBM did not invent the world wide web,” Hadden said.
In the two-week trial, an executive from IBM will testify. This will review the licensing deals with technology companies such as Google and Amazon. This will provide a glimpse into the efforts of IBM of making revenue from its large portfolio of patents.
The New York-based Armonk invests greatly in research and development. Further, it has secured more US patents for the past 25 years compared to other companies.
In 2016, IBM sued the Groupon Inc, for alleged unauthorized use of patented technology.
The two out of the four patents in dispute include the Prodigy. Prodigy was one of the internet’s forerunners in the 1980s. It described a system which reduces server loads.
Moreover, IBM patented its so-called “single sign-on” technology. Desmarais said that after Groupon failed to negotiate a licensing deal, they have no choice but to file a lawsuit of patent infringement.
Hadden, however, debated that IBM’s seeking of money from each internet company was unreasonable.
“We are here because IBM has another business that IBM does not talk about in its commercials. In that business IBM uses its huge stock of patents as a club to get money from other companies,” Hadden said.
Ex-employee files lawsuit of alleged age discrimination against IBM
An ex-employee has joined the list of older workers who had jobs in IBM. This was after the company fired them because of their age, reports said.
The man was identified as Jonathan Langley, 60. He was a cloud salesman at Austin-based operations of IBM. After 24 years of service, he alleges that the company fired him because of his age. This was according to reports from 512tech, an Austin American-Statesman newspaper blog.
The report mentioned that IBM lied to officials of federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission about the reasons of Langley’s termination.
“Had Mr. Langley been younger, and especially if he had been a millennial, IBM would not have fired him,” the lawsuit mentioned.
