This is the first edition of a new Blog feature: a periodic report on recently filed retail patent litigations. I am going to start out preparing it monthly, but depending upon the number of cases I may move to a quarterly post. I will focus on cases brought against retailers, or one or two links in the chain upstream. For now, I will leave out cases accusing a retail product because that would expand the report to almost every case.
I prepared the report in partnership with and using Docket Navigator and its powerful database. Docket Navigator is a powerful resource, and the place to go if you want to keep track of new patent litigation filings or want to know what is happening in particular cases, how your judge has historically handled a particular type of motion, or a particular plaintiff’s litigation history.
Finally, please let me know if you have thoughts about the report and changes you would like to see. I am preparing it as a service for retailers who may want an overview of the patent litigation landscape. So, I am very open to ways to improve the report.
ArrivalStar S.A. & Melvino Technologies
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Defendants (4):Kuehne + Nagel, Inc.; Nicole Miller Palm Beach, Inc.; Seven For All Mankind, LLC; and William Rast Retail, LLC*
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Court: S.D. Florida, Judge Ungaro (Complaint)
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U.S. Patent Nos.: 6,486,801; 6,714,859; 6,748,320; 6,904,359; 6,952,645; 7,030,781; and 7,400,970
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Accusations: ArrivalStar is accusing systems that electronically update users about, among other things, the location and delivery of packages. This is one of more than a dozen cases filed by ArrivalStar this year, although they generally have not targeted retailers or their supply chain directly.
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Plaintiff’s Counsel: McMahon Law Firm
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Notes: ArrivalStar and Melvino Technologies filed other cases in June in Florida and Chicago, but they were not retail-specific, although they asserted the same patents.
CodePro Innovations, LLC
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Defendants (4): Blockbuster; Kohl’s Illinois; Redbox; and The JC Penney Co.
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Court: N.D. Texas, Judge Solis (Complaint)
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U.S. Patent Nos.: 5,717,866 and 5,924,078
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Accusations: CodePro is accusing unspecified systems that use customer-entered copon codes at point-of-sale to provide and track customer discounts.
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Plaintiff’s Counsel: Dietz & Jarrard