By Trevor Warner
As an update to our first article on the lawsuit filed by Nomadix against Blueprint RF, a federal judge ruled allegations of deceiving federal patent examiners could go forward against Nomadix Inc., an NTT Docomo Company.
The allegations are counterclaims by smaller rival and defendant Blueprint RF which Nomadix accused of patent infringement. Chief among the accusations is an alleged infringement on the concept of a captive portal page. The page is what a user sees when logging into a hotel, airport, coffee house or any other Wi-Fi system that requires log in.
The ruling in the U.S. District of Central California turns the tables on Nomadix, which sued Blueprint RF in October 2014. Nomadix accused the company of infringing on 10 patents, but since has withdrawn three of the patents acknowledging that Blueprint RF does not perform those claims.
Blueprint RF responded in counterclaims that the patents were invalid and unenforceable because of the alleged fraud perpetrated by Nomadix. If the court finds for Blueprint RF, the claims could apply to all seven patents remaining.
Blueprint RF’s accusations of inequitable conduct contain enough specific information to meet the legal standard to overcome Nomadix’s motion to dismiss the counterclaims, Judge Dean D. Pregerson ruled on June 29. Inequitable conduct is considered to be a form of non-criminal fraud.
Nomadix had sought to dismiss the counterclaims, saying the allegations were too general to meet any legal standard to go forward.
Blueprint RF’s allegations are supported by the identities of Nomadix representatives who might have engaged in the scheme, including names of attorneys who filed the Nomadix patents at issue. Further, the allegations include a clear description of how Nomadix representatives might have carried out the scheme, the judge ruled.
Blueprint RF’s counterclaims also include sufficient specific information indicating that the Nomadix lawyers knew they intended to deceive the patent officials, “given the totality of the circumstances,” Pregerson said.
To read the remainder of this very important industry update please visit:
