Walker Digital LLC v. Google Inc. et al

Filing 1

COMPLAINT filed with Jury Demand against Google Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Yahoo! Inc. - Magistrate Consent Notice to Pltf. ( Filing fee $ 350, receipt number 0311-873744.) - filed by Walker Digital LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(lid)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

WALKER DIGITAL, LLC
Plaintiff,
v.

Civil Action No. ___________

GOOGLE INC.,
YAHOO! INC., AND
MICROSOFT CORPORATION.

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

Defendants.

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Plaintiff Walker Digital, LLC, (“Walker Digital”) files this complaint for patent
infringement against defendants Google Inc., Yahoo! Inc., and Microsoft Corporation
(collectively, the “Defendants”):
THE PARTIES
1.

Walker Digital is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of

business located at 2 High Ridge Park, Stamford, CT 06905.

Walker Digital is a world-

renowned research and development laboratory responsible for launching several successful
businesses, including Priceline.com and Synapse, Inc.
2.

On information and belief, Defendant Google Inc. (“Google”) is a Delaware

corporation with its corporate headquarters and principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheater
Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043.
3.

On information and belief, Defendant Yahoo! Inc. (“Yahoo”) is a Delaware

corporation with its corporate headquarters and principal place of business at 701 First Avenue,
Sunnyvale, California 94089.

4.

On information and belief, Defendant Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”) is a

Washington corporation with its principal place of business located at One Microsoft Way,
Redmond, Washington 98052.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
5.

This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, Title 35 of the

United States Code. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and
1338(a).
6.

On information and belief, Defendants are subject to this Court’s jurisdiction

because Defendants have transacted business in this district, including, more specifically,
directly and/or through intermediaries, making, using, importing, offering for sale and/or selling
products and services in the State of Delaware (including via the provision of such goods and
services over the Internet). Defendants, upon information and belief, are doing substantial
business in this District, and have committed acts of patent infringement in this District. In
addition, Defendants Google and Yahoo are corporations organized and existing under the laws
of the State of Delaware.
7.

Venue is proper in this district under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b) and (c), and 1400(b).
THE ASSERTED PATENT

8.

On September 21, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office

(“USPTO”) duly and legally issued U.S. Patent No. 7,801,802 (the “’802 patent”), entitled
“Method, System And Computer Program Product For Facilitating An Auction Behavior And
Automatic Bidding In An Auction,” to Jay S. Walker, Daniel E. Tedesco, Kathleen Van
Luchene, James A. Jorasch, and Adam Ware, who assigned their rights and interests in the ’802
patent to Walker Digital. A true and correct copy of the ’802 patent is attached as Exhibit A.

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9.

Walker Digital is the owner of the ’802 patent (the “Asserted Patent”).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND

10.

Walker Digital is a research and development laboratory that has invested many

millions of dollars in its intellectual property. Walker Digital is comprised of a diverse group of
inventors who solve business problems by analyzing human behavior and designing innovative
solutions incorporating modern information technologies. The novel inventions developed by
the Walker Digital team are reflected in a portfolio of more than 200 U.S. and international
patents in a wide range of industries that includes retail, vending, credit cards, security, gaming,
educational testing, and entertainment.
11.

Jay S. Walker, the chairman of Walker Digital, is a named inventor of more than

450 issued and pending U.S. and international patents, including each of the Asserted Patents.
Mr. Walker is best known as the founder of Priceline.com, which revolutionized the travel
industry through unprecedented technology, with the end result of bringing huge savings in
airfare, hotel and car rental rates, and other travel related goods and services to every-day
consumers. The systems at the heart of Priceline.com’s success were developed in the research
and development laboratory of Walker Digital.
12.

Development of the inventions conceived by Mr. Walker and the Walker Digital

team of inventors would not have been possible without substantial financial investments made
by Walker Digital. Funds invested by Walker Digital have been used for many things, including
the construction of laboratory facilities utilized to develop and test new inventions. Many of the
inventions developed at the Walker Digital laboratories have led to successful businesses,
including Priceline.com and Synapse, Inc. Revolutionary technologies, including the method,
system and computer program product for facilitating an auction behavior and automatic bidding

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in an auction, as described and claimed in the Asserted Patent, were a direct result of investments
made by Walker Digital.
13.

The Asserted Patent represents breakthroughs in the field of auction transaction

processing.
COUNT I
(Infringement of the ’802 Patent)
14.

Walker Digital incorporates and realleges the allegations of paragraphs 1-13 as

are fully set forth above.
15.

Upon information and belief, Google is infringing (literally and/or under the

doctrine of equivalents) the ’802 patent in this District and throughout the United States by,
among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale and/or selling products and
services, including at least its Adwords Ad Placement Auction service, which practice one or
more of the claims of the ’802 patent. For instance, upon information and belief, Google’s
Adwords Ad Placement Auction service includes a rule application engine that stores a rule for
automatically placing a bid by a bid generator for an ad for a bidder in an auction. The rule is
associated with the bidder and has a condition specifying that the bid is to be placed by the bid
generator according to an amount of time left in the auction.
16.

Upon information and belief, Yahoo is infringing (literally and/or under the

doctrine of equivalents) the ’802 patent in this District and throughout the United States by,
among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale and/or selling products and
services, including at least its Search Advertising service, which practice one or more of the
claims of the ’802 patent.

For instance, upon information and belief, Yahoo’s Search

Advertising service includes a rule application engine that stores a rule for automatically placing
a bid by a bid generator for an ad for a bidder in an auction. The rule is associated with the
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bidder and has a condition specifying that the bid is to be placed by the bid generator according
to an amount of time left in the auction.
17.

Upon information and belief, Microsoft is infringing (literally and/or under the

doctrine of equivalents) the ’802 patent in this District and throughout the United States by,
among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale and/or selling products and
services, including at least its Advertising adCenter, which practice one or more of the claims of
the ’802 patent. For instance, upon information and belief, Microsoft’s Advertising adCenter
includes a rule application engine that stores a rule for automatically placing a bid by a bid
generator for an ad for a bidder in an auction. The rule is associated with the bidder and has a
condition specifying that the bid is to be placed by the bid generator according to an amount of
time left in the auction.
18.

Defendants committed these acts of infringement without license or authorization.

19.

As a result of Defendants’ infringement of the ’802 patent, Walker Digital has

suffered monetary damages in an amount not yet determined, and will continue to suffer
damages in the future unless Defendants’ infringing activities are enjoined by this Court.
20.

Walker Digital has suffered and will continue to suffer severe and irreparable

harm unless this Court issues a permanent injunction prohibiting Defendants, their agents,
servants, employees, representatives, and all others acting in active concert therewith from
infringing the ’802 patent.
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff Walker Digital, under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, requests
a trial by jury of any issues so triable by right.

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PRAYER FOR RELIEF
For the above reasons, Walker Digital respectfully requests that this Court grant the
following relief in favor of Walker Digital and against Defendants:
(a)

A judgment in favor of Walker Digital that Defendants have infringed, directly

(either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents), and/or indirectly, by way of inducing and/or
contributing to the infringement of one or more claims of each of the Asserted Patents;
(b)

A permanent injunction enjoining Defendants and their officers, directors, agents,

servants, affiliates, employees, divisions, branches, subsidiaries, parents, and all others acting in
active concert or participation with them, from infringing, inducing the infringement of, or
contributing to the infringement of each of the Asserted Patents;
(c)

A judgment and order requiring an accounting and for Defendants to pay Walker

Digital its damages, costs, expenses, and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest for
Defendants’ infringement of each of the Asserted Patents;
(d)

A judgment and order requiring Defendants to provide an accounting and to pay

supplemental damages to Walker Digital, including, without limitation, pre-judgment interest;
(e)

A judgment and order finding that this is an exceptional case within the meaning

of 35 U.S.C. § 285 and awarding Walker Digital its reasonable attorneys’ fees; and
(f)

Any and all such other relief as the Court deems just and proper.

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April 11, 2011

Of Counsel:
Marc A. Fenster
RUSS, AUGUST & KABAT
12424 Wilshire Boulevard 12th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90025
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 310/826-6991
[e-mail]

BAYARD, P.A.
/s/ Stephen B. Brauerman (sb4952)
Richard D. Kirk (rk0922)
Stephen B. Brauerman (sb4952)
222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 900
P.O. Box 25130
Wilmington, DE 19899
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Walker Digital, LLC

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