Amazon
After 14 hours of deliberations, following a 10-day trial, the federal jury of four men and four women in Wilmington, Delaware, yesterday rejected Cordances claims that Amazon infringed the patents. Cordance sought more than $84 million in damages.
“What were using is stuff we think was standard” before the patents issued, Amazon lawyer Lynn H. Pasahow told jurors in his closing argument. Both he and Cordance lawyer Michael A. Albert declined to immediately comment after the verdict.
Cordance, a patent holder and software developer based in Sammamish, Washington, sued Seattle-based Amazon in 2006, contending it was misusing technology patented by Cordance for one-click shopping and customer feedback procedures.
“Were very pleased with the jurys verdict,” said Patty Smith, an Amazon spokeswoman, in an e-mailed statement.
Brian E. Lewis, Cordances general counsel, didnt return a call seeking comment.
During the trial, Pasahow told jurors that one of the patents wasnt infringed because Amazon uses one-click ordering, while the patent is for a system involving two clicks.
Albert told U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Pat Thynge that Amazon made “billions of dollars” by using the inventions developed by Drummond Reed. He said Reed described his idea as early as 1993, while Amazon launched its one-click system in 1997.
Amazon claimed that the inventions werent new and should not have been recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Amazon.com rose $1.06 to $82.12 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading at 5:20 p.m. in New York. The shares have risen 60 percent this year.
The case is Cordance Corp. v. Amazon.com Inc., 06CV491, U.S. District Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).
To see the patents, click: 6,757,710; 6,088,717; and 5,862,325.