Case names read as two sides separated by a v., and the numbers after them are the patents at issue. The court or board named is where the matter was heard.

Authentication and notification

Proving that a person is who they say they are, and getting a message to them, are two of the most heavily patented problems in software.

  • Twilio v. TeleSign Patent Trial and Appeal Board. U.S. Patent 7,945,034. Obviousness assertions against a fraud detection process based on a user's telephone number were rejected by the Board.
  • TeleSign v. Twilio Central District of California. U.S. Patents 7,945,034; 8,462,920; 8,687,038; 9,300,792. Three inter partes reviews defended.
  • StrikeForce v. PhoneFactor and StrikeForce v. Microsoft District of Delaware. U.S. Patents 7,870,599; 8,484,698; 8,713,701. Out of band authentication.
  • SimpleAir v. Microsoft Eastern District of Texas. U.S. Patents 7,035,914; 6,021,433.

Cryptography, encoding and security

Older patents in this area are often the hardest to read and the most consequential, because the words were chosen before the technology settled into the vocabulary everyone now uses.

  • Princeton Digital v. Microsoft District of Delaware. U.S. Patent 4,813,056.
  • Tallgrass v. Microsoft Eastern District of Texas. Addison Fischer Patents 5,346,972; 6,141,423; 6,216,229.
  • Pantaurus v. Microsoft Eastern District of Texas. U.S. Patent 6,272,533.

Communications, email and imaging

Moving and displaying information, which is to say most of what a modern product does somewhere in its stack.

  • Comcast v. Sprint Eastern District of Pennsylvania. U.S. Patent 5,991,271.
  • InNova v. Cinemark Eastern District of Texas. U.S. Patent 6,018,761.
  • E-contact v. Microsoft Eastern District of Texas. U.S. Patent 5,347,579.
  • Skyline v. Microsoft Eastern District of Virginia. U.S. Patent 7,551,172.

Chemical

Not every patent case is software. Chemistry cases turn on formulations, processes, and what a person skilled in that field would have understood the claim to cover.

  • Buckman v. Solenis Western District of Tennessee. U.S. Patents 8,841,469; 8,962,059. Argued at the Federal Circuit.
  • Buckman v. Nalco Northern District of Illinois. U.S. Patents 7,949,432; 8,012,758; 7,981,679.

Trademark

Trademark disputes ask a different question than patent disputes do. Not whether something was invented first, but whether buyers are likely to be confused about who made it.

  • A cancellation proceeding defended For a fashion company, defending a registered mark against cancellation.
  • An opposition pursued For a non-profit, opposing an application to register.

How to read a list like this

These are matters listed publicly by the firm. A case name tells you who was on each side and where it was heard. It does not tell you who prevailed, what it cost, or how close it was, and every one of these was decided on its own facts.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.