IBM granted $825 M after Groupon is discovered to infringe on its e-commerce patents

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A federal jury in Delaware granted IBM $825 million after discovering that offers website Groupon had actually infringed on e-commerce patents owned by the innovation giant, according to a legal representative for IBM,

The jury discovered Groupon’s actions to be willful violation of IBM’s patents, John Desmarais, IBM’s lead lawyer stated in an interview. Groupon might be needed to pay IBM’s legal charges depending upon the outcomes of a post-trial hearing.

The jury’s choice is the conclusion of a 2-year-old case that focused on Groupon’s usage of innovation that’s covered by 4 IBM patents. Among them is a patent covering “single sign in” innovation and a system for reducing server overloads.

“It’s a vindication for the strength of IBM’s e-commerce portfolio,” Desmarais stated of the jury’s choice.

Still, the award is smaller sized than the $167 million IBM requested for 2 weeks earlier. IBM safeguarded its demand, stating that Amazon, Facebook and Google had all certified its e-commerce innovation for in between $20 million and $50 million each.

“IBM invests nearly $6 billion annually in research and development, producing innovations for society,” stated IBM representative Doug Shelton in an e-mail declaration. “We rely on our patents to protect our innovations. We are pleased by the jury’s verdict.”

Groupon, for its part, stated it still does not think it infringed on IBMs patents and will think about submitting post-trial movements or an appeal.

“We continue to believe in the strength of our case and will continue to assert it in the courts,” stated Groupon representative BillRoberts

During the trial, Groupon stated IBM’s assertions were based upon “old and inapplicable portions of its patent portfolio” and stated IBM was overreaching.

“Groupon attempted to distract the jury with a smokescreen,” stated Desmarais.

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