Intuit beats Web encryption patent that defeated Newegg at trial

Intuit defeated a controversial web encryption patent by arguing that "no data or blocks 'are being transmitted' over the link until at least one bit of data has entered the link."

TQP Development court demonstrative

Acontroversial patentthat has been used to wring millions of dollarsin settlements from hundreds of companies is on the verge of getting shut down.

US Circuit Judge William Bryson, sitting "by designation" in the Eastern District of Texas, has found in a summary judgment ruling(PDF) that the patent, owned by TQP Development, is not infringed by the two defendants remaining in the case, Intuit Corp. and Hertz Corp. In a separate ruling(PDF), Bryson rejected Intuit's arguments that the patent was invalid.

TQP has been arguing for years that using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) combined with the RC4 encryption cipher infringes its patent. The company's former owner, renowned "patent troll"Erich Spangenberg,acknowledged during a trial last year that he hasmade more than $45 million in settlements on the TQP patent. TQP is one of dozens of patent groups that he owns.

Now,TQP may have lost whatever mojo is left in its patent campaign. Since its infringement arguments are basically the same in every case, Bryson's Friday ruling should mean that the remaining defendants have a clear route to victory in their cases as well.

LinkedIn, Twitter, and Yelp are facing a TQP lawsuit over the same patent. That case is also overseen by Bryson, and the three defendants are represented by the same team of lawyers from Klarquist Sparkman that won the case for Intuit. It seems likely that those defendants could win their case on the same grounds as Intuit.

A similar non-infringement argument was put forward by Newegg, which is still wrapped up in post-trial motions after losing a jury trial againstTQP Development in November. After Newegg lost, TQP settled with more companies, including Google, which was slated to face off with TQP shortly after Newegg.

The TQP v. Newegg case still hasn't reached a final judgment. It'sbeing overseen by US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, who is still considering post-trial motions.

Gilstrap isn't bound by Bryson's ruling.Bryson is an appeals court judge from the Federal Circuit, who took senior status last year. Because he ruled on this case at the district court level, hisdecision isn't binding on other judges. It isn't unusual for a judge from a federalappeals court to sit "by designation" in district courts, which allows them to sometimes have the experience of overseeing jury trials.

See the article here:
Intuit beats Web encryption patent that defeated Newegg at trial