Computer Software Protection LLC v. Adobe Systems Incorporated

Filing 147

MEMORANDUM ORDER denying (126 in 1:12-cv-00451-SLR) MOTION for Attorney Fees and Requesting that this Case Be Found Exceptional under 35 USC 285 filed by Adobe Systems Incorporated, denying (138 in 1:12-cv-00455-SLR) MOTION for Fees and Costs filed by Wolfram Research Inc. Signed by Judge Sue L. Robinson on 3/31/2015. Associated Cases: 1:12-cv-00451-SLR, 1:12-cv-00455-SLR(fms)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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ADOBE SYSTEMS IN CORPORATED, )
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Defendant.
COMPUTER SOFTWARE
PROTECTION, LLC,

COMPUTER SOFTWARE
PROTECTION, LLC,
Plaintiff,

v.
WOLFRAM RESEARCH, INC.,
Defendant.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
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)

Civ. No. 12-451-SLR

Civ. No. 12-455-SLR

MEMORANDUM ORDER

At Wilmington this

j\~ay of March, 2015, having reviewed defondants' motions

for attorney fees, and the papers filed in connection therewith;
IT IS ORDERED that defendants' motions for attorney fees (Civ. No. 14-451, D.I.
126; Civ. No. 12-455) are denied, for the reasons that follow:
1. Background. On April 10, 2012, plaintiff Computer

Software~

Protection, LLC

("CSP") initiated litigation against defendants Adobe Systems Incorporated ("Adobe")
(Civ. No. 14-451 )1 and Wolfram Research, Inc. ("Wolfram") (Civ. No. 12-455) alleging

1

All references are to Civ. No. 14-451 unless otherwise indicated.

infringement of United States Patent No. 6,460, 140 ("the '140 patent"). 2 The same day,
CSP also filed complaints against three other defendants for
patent -

infringeme~nt

of the '140

Autodesk, Inc. ("Autodesk"), Nuance Communications, Inc. ("Nuance"), and

The MathWorks, Inc. ("The MathWorks"). After reaching a settlement, CSP voluntarily
dismissed the case against MathWorks on July 2, 2012. (Civ. No. 12-453, D.I. 14) The
four remaining cases were consolidated for discovery and claim construction. Per the
custom of this court at that time, the issues of damages and willfulness were bifurcated
for discovery and trial. The parties completed fact discovery. (D.I. 134 at 3) CSP then
reached a settlement agreement with Nuance, granting a license to third-party Flexera
Software LIC ("Flexera"), which also resulted in a release from liability for Autodesk and
two of Adobe's three product activation methods accused of infringement in the case at
bar, as they utilized Flexera's technology. (D.I. 134 at 4) CSP stipulateid to dismiss the
case against Autodesk on December 16, 2013, and the case against Nuance on March
31, 2014. (Civ. No. 12-454, D.I. 73; Civ. No. 12-452, D.I. 67)
2. CSP and the two remaining defendants, Adobe and Wolfram, proce·eded to
summary judgment and claim construction briefing. The claim construction and
summary judgment hearing was scheduled for May 20, 2014, with a pmtrial conference
set for August 14, 2014 and jury trial for September 8, 2014. (D.I. 17; D.I. 10f3) On
Friday, May 16, 2014, two business days before the hearing, CSP provided Adobe and
Wolfram covenants not to sue, without compensation, and thereafter requested that the
court cancel the hearing. (D.I. 121) After reaching agreement with Adobe on modified

2

The court retained jurisdiction to hear any fee motions. (D.I. 124, so ordered; Civ. No.
12-4Ei5, D.1.134, so ordered)

2

language for the covenant not to sue, a joint motion for dismissal was filed on August 1,
2014, providing that all claims and counterclaims asserted by CSP wem dismissed with
prejudice, and all of Adobe's claims and counterclaims were dismissed without
prejudice. (D.I. 124) A similarly worded joint motion to dismiss was filed on August 5,
2014 in the case against Wolfram. (D.I. Civ. No. 12-455, D.I. 134)
3. Prevailing Party. Section 285 provides, in its entirety, "[t]he court in
exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to the

prevailin!~

party." 35

U.S.C. § 285. In determining whether a party is a prevailing party in patent litigation, the
Federal Circuit applies the general principle that, '"to be a prevailing party, one must
"receive at least some relief on the merits," which "alters ... the legal mlationship of the
parties." Inland Steel Co. v. LTV Steel Co., 364 F.3d 1318, 1320 (Fed. Cir. 2004)
(citations omitted). The Federal Circuit has concluded that, "as a

matte~r

of patent law,"

the dismissal of claims with prejudice when granted by a district court "has the
necessary judicial imprimatur to constitute a judicially sanctioned

chan!~e

in the legal

relationship of the parties, such that [a] district court properly [can] entetrtain [a] fee
claim under 35 U.S.C. § 285." Highway Equip. Co. v. FEGO, Ltd., 469 F.3d '1027, 1035
(Fed. Cir. 2006). Under the circumstances of this case, Adobe and Wolfram are the
prevailing parties for the purposes of the present motions.
4. Exceptional case. Consistent with the Supreme Court's deGision in Octane
Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc., 134 S. Ct. 1749 (2014), the Court
described § 285 as imposing "one and only one constraint on district courts' discretion
to award attorney's fees in patent litigation: The power is reserved for 'exceptional'
cases." Id. at 1755-56. Because the Patent Act does not define "exceptional," the

3

Court construed it "'in accordance with [its] ordinary meaning."' Id. at 1756 (citation
omitted). "In 1952, when Congress used the word in§ 285 (and today, for that matter),
'"[e]xceptional' meant 'uncommon,' 'rare,' or 'not ordinary."' Id. (citation omittHd). In
support of its interpretation, the Court referred to an earlier interpretation of the term
'"exceptional' in the Lanham Act's identical fee-shifting provision, 15 U.:S.C. § 1117(a),
to mean 'uncommon' or 'not run-of-the-mill."' Id. The Court concluded that
an "exceptional" case is simply one that stands out from others with
respect to the substantive strength of a party's litigating position
(considering both the governing law and the facts of the case) or the
unreasonable manner in which the case was litigated. District courts may
determine whether a case is "exceptional" in the case-by-case exercise of
their discretion, considering the totality of the circumstances. As; in the!
comparable context of the Copyright Act, '"[t]here is no precise rule or
formula for making these determinations,' but instead equitable discretion
should be exercised 'in light of the considerations we have identified."'
Id. at 1756 (citing Fogerty v. Fantasy, Inc., 510 U.S. 517, 534 (1994)). 3 In addressing

Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court expressly heild that
"sanctionable conduct is not the appropriate benchmark" for § 285

case~s.

Under the

standard announced in Octane, "a district court may award fees in the rare case in
which a party's unreasonable conduct - while not necessarily independently
sanctionable - is nonetheless so 'exceptional' as to justify an award of foes" or "a case
presenting either subjective bad faith or exceptionally meritless claims." Id. at 1757. A

3

In Fogerty, the Supreme Court explained that, in determining whether to award fees
under a provision similar to§ 285 in the Copyright Act, district courts could consider a
"none~xclusive" list of "factors," including "frivolousness, motivation, obje~ct
unreasonableness (both in the factual and legal components of the cas.e ), and the need
in particular circumstances to advance considerations of compensation and cleterrence."
510 U.S. at 534, n.19.

4

party seeking attorney fees under § 285 must prove the merits of their contentions by a
preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 1758.
5. Analysis. Defendants basically argue that these cases are "exceptional"
because they would have prevailed on their various defenses if the cases had not been
dismissed. In point of fact, however, none of the defenses posited by defend.ants4 are
so evident from the record at bar that the court can say with any certainty5 that
defendants not only would have succeeded on the merits, but that the strength of their
arguments would have been exceptionally dispositive. Indeed, in a case where
settlements were reached with other parties, and the court did not construe the claims,
or resolve multiple discovery disputes, or resolve motions to dismiss or for summary
judgment, to characterize these circumstances as exceptional is exceptionally
presumptuous, as well as inconsistent with the court's understanding o'f what justifies
the foe-shifting provisions of§ 285.
6. Conclusion. For the reasons stated, the motions for fees ana deni1ad.

~~~_)

United States District Judge

4

Defondants claim to be third-party beneficiaries to a patent license granted to Oracle,
and c:1lso claim that plaintiff's infringement claims were baseless.
5 And, frankly, the court is not inclined to address the merits of these defenses as
thou~1h the cases had not been dismissed, a monumental waste of judicial resources in
the context of a discretionary paradigm.

5