Knobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear, LLP, one of the nation’s leading intellectual property law firms, announced today that it achieved a complete defense victory of summary judgment of non-infringement for its client BreezyPrint in a patent lawsuit brought by PrinterOn.
PrinterOn filed its lawsuit against Breezy in Houston, alleging infringement of four patents related to printing software. “The public dialogue over patent litigation tends to focus on non-practicing entities, but the issues run deeper than that. PrinterOn’s lawsuit was far worse than a nuisance-value case,” said Breezy’s attorney, Alan Laquer of Knobbe Martens. “PrinterOn’s lawsuit attempted to threaten Breezy’s very survival.”
Breezy’s defense relied on Knobbe attorneys Alan Laquer and Doug Muehlhauser, and Breezy’s CEO and Founder Jared Hansen—all experienced computer programmers—to prove Breezy’s case, rather than incur the more typical cost of hiring technical advisors. To resolve the suit quickly, Breezy made its full source code available for secure inspection immediately in the case, before discovery was scheduled to begin. Breezy then moved for early summary judgment shortly after discovery commenced.
In response to Breezy’s explanation, the Judge noted that PrinterOn’s patents, which date back to 2000, are not directed to cloud technology, as PrinterOn had argued, and are instead for “antiquated technology.” The Judge compared PrinterOn’s lawsuit to an argument that a patent on “the oil wick lamp would make infringing the light bulb,” and noted that PrinterOn’s allegations were therefore “troubling on a policy level.” The Judge rejected PrinterOn’s proposed claim constructions for all twelve construed patent claim terms and instead adopted Breezy’s proposed claim constructions. Based on Breezy’s claim construction victories, the Judge found that Breezy does not infringe any of the asserted patents.
“It’s a privilege to be trusted with a case of this importance to our client, and it’s a thrill to deliver this complete victory in response,” said Laquer.
About Knobbe Martens
With more than 275 lawyers and scientists nationwide, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear, LLP dedicates its practice to all aspects of intellectual property law including litigation. Consistently ranked among the top intellectual property firms worldwide, Knobbe Martens serves a diverse group of clients from multinational corporations to emerging businesses of all stages. Headquartered in Orange County, California, Knobbe Martens also has offices in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle and Washington, D.C. More information about the firm can be found at www.knobbe.com.
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