USPTO invalidates four Symantec patents
The US Patent and Trademark Office (UPSTO) has invalidated four patents that Symantec had asserted against technology company Veeam Software.
The Patent and Trial Appeal Board (PTAB) said the patents, which covered technology related to data storage systems, were obvious and anticipated.
Veeam had challenged the validity of the patents after anti-virus company Symantec filed an infringement claim against the company in October 2012 at the US District Court for the Northern District of California.
But Veeam filed for an inter partes review in 2013 where it challenged the validity of the patents. On Wednesday (May 13) the PTAB ruled in favour of Veeam.
Ratmir Timashev, chief executive at Veeam, said: “We are delighted with the USPTO’s decisions, which are a testament that the US patent system does not protect patents that do not represent authentic innovation.”
The company added that Symantec filed the lawsuit because its back-up and storage products “could not compete with Veeam’s innovative approach”.
The ruling follows another decision in July 2014 when the PTAB invalidated three other patents that Symantec had asserted against Veeam.
In total, the USPTO has now invalidated seven patents that Symantec has asserted against Veeam.
Symantec had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
