Parallel Networks v. Abercombie & Fitch, et al. (Fed. Cir. 2013)
Back in 2010 Parallel Networks sued about 120 different companies in a single patent infringement lawsuit – alleging infringement of its U.S. Patent No. 6,446,111. The patent covers the use of individualized applets on handheld devices to speed up data transfer rates but have been asserted against almost anyone involved in ecommerce. The original owner EpicRealm created some buzz back in 2000 with $75 million in venture financing. However, the company was squeezed out by Akamai. The patents are basically all that is left, and the Federal Circuit has largely eliminated their power (at least of the '111 patent) by affirming E.D.Tex. District Court Judge Davis's narrowing claim construction and resulting summary judgment of noninfringement.
The decision is primarily a detailed claim construction analysis that focuses on defining the scope of claim terms with a focus on how those terms are used in the claims and how the invention is described in the specification.
