Tag: IP Transfer and Licensing

IBM wins $83 million in patent infringement against Groupon

IBM wins $83 million in patent infringement against Groupon

Groupon operates online retail marketplaces by primarily offering discounts on goods and services via the website www.groupon.com. It also uses Groupon mobile applications to participating retailers. IBM accused the defendant of having built its business by using several IBM patents. Despite repeated attempts by IBM to negotiate, Groupon has refused to enter into licensing agreements with IBM.

“IBM” filed a patent infringement suit against Groupon, Inc.

IBM alleged that Groupon infringed e-commerce patents that were previously licensed to other technology giants such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and Twitter. Groupon, argued that IBM overestimates the scope of protection covered by the disputed patents.

IBM’s patents describes techniques for obtaining government information and for recursively embedding status information in communication between clients and servers and program modules that modify the hypertext. IBM patents also cover a single sign-on technology, which is the basis for an authentication processes on user accounts on the Internet.
Since November 2011, IBM has sought licensing agreements with Groupon, which it rejected.
The District Court of Delaware now ruled that Groupon infringed IBM’s patents infringement and committed Groupon to pay $83 million to IBM, the payment included the high development costs claimed by IBM as well as the license revenues lost for years. Groupon has announced to consider an appeal.

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New Trends in Pharma Industry–制药厂的新招

GSK is considering submitting patents on future cancer drugs it develops to the United Nation’s Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), in an effort to address “the increasing burden of cancer in developing countries.” The MPP negotiates large scale licensing agreements between drug developers and multiple generics manufacturers — enabling greater access to medicines for a larger group of up to 127 developing countries. ” The patents pool was established in 2010 and has proved successful in accelerating access to treatments such as HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C through voluntary licensing arrangements, which allow generic versions of GSK’s drugs to be made and distributed in poorer countries. Expanding the pool to include cancer drugs will “add to the wider contribution GSK makes to improve access to effective healthcare around the world”, the company said.

GSK announced that it will stop filing for patents in 50 least developed and low income countries. But it will file patent protection in an additional 35 lower middle-income countries. The company will then grant licenses for ten years in exchange for seeking a “small royalty for sales in those countries.” GSK stated “the changes we are setting out aim to make it as clear and simple as possible for generic manufacturers to make and supply versions of GSK medicines.”

GSK will continue to seek full patent protection in richer parts of the world.

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