Askeladden Seeks Inter Partes Review of Two Purple Leaf Patents
Asserts that claimed payments methods were known and obvious
For Immediate Release:
Date: September 6, 2016
Contact: Sean Oblack, 202.649.4629
Press@patentqualityinitiative.com
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Askeladden LLC filed three petitions for Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on Friday challenging two payments-related patents assigned to Purple Leaf, LLC. Askeladden’s Patent Challenge Committee—which is comprised of individuals regarded as thought leaders with respect to the patent system—decided to challenge these patents through the IPR process as part of Askeladden’s Patent Quality Initiative.
Askeladden’s IPR petitions ask the PTAB to take a second look at the validity of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,527,407 and 8,744,963 because the claimed payment methods were already known and obvious before the time when the applications for the patents were filed with the USPTO.
Purple Leaf had previously sued Zuora Inc. for infringement of the ’407 patent and accused eBay and PayPal of infringing both patents. eBay and PayPal submitted Covered Business Method (CBM) review petitions challenging the patents at the PTAB. The PTAB granted the petitions and initiated CBM proceedings, but the parties settled before final written decisions were issued. Purple Leaf had also previously sued eBay and PayPal as well as Amazon, Google, and several other companies asserting infringement of another patent related to the ’407 and ’963 patents that Askeladden is now challenging.
“Litigation based on invalid patents that should not have been issued is a wasteful exercise that undermines innovation,” said Sean Reilly, General Counsel of Askeladden. “The mission of the Patent Quality Initiative is to support and protect innovation across the financial services industry and elsewhere.”
About Patent Quality Initiative
Askeladden is an education, information and advocacy organization with the goal of improving the understanding, use and reliability of patents in financial services and other industries. As part of its Patent Quality Initiative, Askeladden strives to promote better patents and patent holder behaviors by regularly filing amicus briefs, Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) and engaging in educational activities.