Google had already paid for a license to use the patents in question, and since the other media companies were clients of Google's licensed technology, Google argued that these other firms should be free of blame.
Google won the case, but only received damages of $1 as well as a court order preventing Beneficial Innovations from suing other companies that use Google's technology.
A few months later, however, the judge ruled that Google should also be able to collect attorneys' fees, bringing Google's payment amount up to $1.3 million and a dollar.
The significance of this case is not that Google won some money, but that the company won against a patent troll. In very few cases do the defendant actually win against patent trolls, as it is their specialty and lifeblood to learn the intricacies of patent litigation. This court case win is like a bulldog in front of the Google house, an unfriendly reminder that Google can and will fight back.
Hi Healy,
ReplyDeleteI like how you summarized the case and made it clear that the importance of companies going on the offensive against these trolls. If companies simply settle for settlements, these trolls will continue to prey, but if companies with the resources such as Google take the initiative to go out and defend themselves, trolls like Beneficial Innovations can have their strategy backfire on them. I think your post gives some hope that the industry will continue to fight against the pressurized demands of these trolls