Judge moves to dismiss Allen's patent suit

December 13, 2010 | 15:58

Tags: #allen #patent #seattle

Companies: #paul-allen

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's attempts to sue a vast swathe of the technology industry over claims of patent infringement have been dealt a blow by a Seattle judge, who stated that Allen's suit 'lacked adequate factual data.'

The suit, which Allen filed back in August, accused major players in the tech industry - including Apple, Google, eBay, and AOL - of deliberately infringing on patents held by Allen's Interval Research.

The filing, which hinged on some older patents that address basic functionality for a corporate website, could have made Allen an even richer man than he already is - if it weren't for the actions of US District Judge Marsha Pechman, who accused Allen and his lawyers of failing to 'provide sufficient factual detail as suggest by Form 18.'

The order to dismiss also came with the claim that Allen's filing 'lacks adequate factual detail to satisfy the dictates of Twombly and Iqbal,' referring to a pair of famous Supreme Court cases from 2007 and 2009 that are used as the basis for finding an accusation of illegality plausible, rather than possible or conceivable.

Speaking to Seattle news site TechFlash, a spokesperson for Allen stated that the motion to dismiss is 'purely procedural' on the judges part, and does not represent a finding on the legitimacy of the lawsuit.

The same spokesperson confirmed that Allen is looking to continue the suit, filing more detailed documentation with the court before the dismissal deadline on the 28th of December.

Do you think that Paul Allen is right to continue his campaign, or should he take the judge's hint and drop the case? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Discuss this in the forums
YouTube logo
MSI MPG Velox 100R Chassis Review

October 14 2021 | 15:04

TOP STORIES

SUGGESTED FOR YOU