IBM sues Expedia for patent infringement
IBM has filed a complaint against travel technology company Expedia, alleging that it is infringing three of its patents.
The complaint, which was filed yesterday April 9 at the US District Court for the District of Arizona, claimed that a number of Expedia-owned websites infringe three of its patents (US numbers RE41,440; 6,778,193; and 7,543,234).
The patents relate to technology that improves graphical user interfaces for customer self-service search systems and customisable portal pages.
IBM said generating a portal page wherein the page includes a plurality of portlets—such as the search results page on www.expedia.com—constitutes infringement of its patents.
In its filing, IBM said Expedia has “built its business model” on the use of IBM’s patents.
IBM said it had been forced to seek relief through litigation because its “multi-year struggle to negotiate a licence agreement that remedies Expedia’s conduct has failed”.
“When a company appropriates IBM’s intellectual property but refuses to negotiate a license, IBM has no choice but to seek judicial assistance,” it added.
WIPR has approached Expedia for comment.
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