Parallel Iron LLC v. Google Inc

Filing 1

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT - filed with Jury Demand against Google Inc - Magistrate Consent Notice to Pltf. ( Filing fee $ 350, receipt number 0311-1243966.) - filed by Parallel Iron LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Civil Cover Sheet)(mdb)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
PARALLEL IRON, LLC,
C.A. No.

Plaintiff
v.

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
GOOGLE INC.,
Defendant.

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
Plaintiff Parallel Iron, LLC files this complaint for patent infringement against
Defendant Google Inc.:
PARTIES
1.

Plaintiff Parallel Iron, LLC (“Parallel Iron”) is a Delaware limited liability

company.
2.

Defendant Google Inc. (“Google” or “Defendant”) is a Delaware

corporation with a principal place of business at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain
View, California 94043. Google has appointed The Corporation Trust Company,
Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, as its agent
for service of process.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
3.

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).

4.

This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant because, among other

reasons, Defendant is incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and has
established minimum contacts with the forum state of Delaware. Defendant, directly
and/or through third-party intermediaries, makes, uses, imports, offers for sale, and/or
sells products and services within the state of Delaware. Additionally, on information
and belief, Defendant has committed and continues to commit acts of direct and indirect
infringement in this District by making, using, importing, offering for sale, and/or selling
infringing products, and inducing others to perform method steps claimed by Parallel
Iron’s patent in Delaware.
5.

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

1400(b).
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
6.

In this technological age, we take for granted the ability to access

tremendous amounts of data through our computers and the Internet, a process that seems
effortless and unremarkable. But this apparent effortlessness is an illusion, made possible
only by technological wizardry. The amount of information that is used by many
companies has outstripped the storage capacity of individual memory devices. The
information must be stored across hundreds or thousands of individual memory devices
and machines. The ability to keep track of information as it is distributed across
numerous devices and machines, while still allowing users to retrieve it seamlessly upon
request, is a feat that was impossible until recently. It was made possible by the
innovations of technological pioneers like Melvin James Bullen, Steven Louis Dodd,
William Thomas Lynch, and David James Herbison. Bullen, Dodd, Lynch and Herbison

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were, among others, members of a company dedicated to solving the difficult problems
that limited the capacity of computer technology and the Internet, particularly problems
concerning data storage. These engineers found innovative solutions for these problems
and patented several technologies for data storage, including the ones at issue in this case.
Many of the data-access feats we take for granted today are possible because of the datastorage inventions of Bullen, Dodd, Lynch and Herbison. Bullen, Dodd, Lynch and
Herbison invented new ways of storing massive amounts of information across multiple
memory devices that allow a storage system to track the information and quickly retrieve
it, even when a memory device fails. In 2002, they applied for a patent covering their
work, which the United States Patent Office issued in 2007 as U.S. Patent No. 7,197,662.
Based on the same disclosure, the United States Patent Office issued U.S. Patent Nos.
7,543,177 and 7,958,388 in 2009 and 2011, respectively. They assigned their rights to
these inventions to the company in which they were members.
7.

Defendant is a technology company that has been using Bullen, Dodd,

Lynch and Herbison’s inventions, benefiting from the hard work of these engineers,
without their consent, and without compensating them or their company.

COUNT I
INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 7,197,662
8.

Parallel Iron realleges and incorporates by reference paragraphs 1-7 above.

9.

Parallel Iron is the owner by assignment of United States Patent No.

7,197,662 (“the ’662 patent”) entitled “Methods and Systems for a Storage System.” The
’662 patent was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on March 27, 2007. A true and correct copy of the ’662 patent is attached as Exhibit A.

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10.

Defendant makes, uses, offers for sale, sells and/or imports into the

United States products and/or services implementing Google File System (“GFS”).
11.

Upon information and belief, Defendant has infringed and continues to

infringe the ’662 patent in the State of Delaware, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in
the United States, by, among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale
and/or selling high throughput computer data storage products and/or services covered by
one or more claims of the ’662 patent. Such products and/or services include, by way of
example and without limitation, those implementing GFS, which are covered by one or
more claims of the ’662 patent, including but not limited to claim 14. By making, using,
importing, offering for sale, and/or selling products and/or services that are covered by
one or more claims of the ’662 patent, Defendant has injured Parallel Iron and is thus
liable to Parallel Iron for infringement of the ’662 patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §271.
12.

As a result of the Defendant’s past infringement of the ’662 patent,

Parallel Iron has suffered monetary damages in an amount adequate to compensate for
Defendant’s past infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for
Defendant’s use of the invention, together with interest and costs as fixed by the Court.
Parallel Iron will continue to suffer these monetary damages in the future unless
Defendant’s infringing activities are enjoined by this Court.
13.

Parallel Iron will be irreparably harmed unless this Court issues a

permanent injunction enjoining the infringement of ’662 patent by the Defendant and its
officers, directors, agents, servants, affiliates, employees, divisions, branches,
subsidiaries, parents, and all others who are in active concert or participation with them.

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COUNT II
INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 7,958,388
14.

Parallel Iron realleges and incorporates by reference paragraphs 1-7 above.

15.

Parallel Iron is the owner by assignment of United States Patent No.

7,958,388 (“the ’388 patent”) entitled “Methods and Systems for a Storage System.” The
’388 patent was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on June 7, 2011. A true and correct copy of the ’388 patent is attached as Exhibit B.
16.

Upon information and belief, Defendant has infringed and continues to

infringe the ’388 patent in the State of Delaware, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in
the United States, by, among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale
and/or selling high throughput computer data storage products and/or services covered by
one or more claims of the ’388 patent. Such products and/or services include, by way of
example and without limitation, those implementing GFS, which are covered by one or
more claims of the ’388 patent, including but not limited to claim 2. By making, using,
importing, offering for sale, and/or selling products and/or services that are covered by
one or more claims of the ’388 patent, Defendant has injured Parallel Iron and is thus
liable to Parallel Iron for infringement of the ’388 patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §271.
17.

As a result of Defendant’s past infringement of the ’388 patent, Parallel

Iron has suffered monetary damages in an amount adequate to compensate for
Defendant’s past infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for
Defendant’s use of the invention, together with interest and costs as fixed by the Court.
Parallel Iron will continue to suffer these monetary damages in the future unless
Defendant’s infringing activities are enjoined by this Court.

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18.

Parallel Iron will be irreparably harmed unless this Court issues a

permanent injunction enjoining the infringement of ’388 patent by the Defendant and its
officers, directors, agents, servants, affiliates, employees, divisions, branches,
subsidiaries, parents, and all others who are in active concert or participation with it.
COUNT III
INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 7,543,177
19.

Parallel Iron realleges and incorporates by reference paragraphs 1-7 above.

20.

Parallel Iron is the owner by assignment of United States Patent No.

7,543,177 (“the ’177 patent”) entitled “Methods and Systems for a Storage System.” The
’177 patent was duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office
on June 2, 2009. A true and correct copy of the ’177 patent is attached as Exhibit C.
21.

Upon information and belief, Defendant has infringed and continues to

infringe the ’177 patent in the State of Delaware, in this judicial district, and elsewhere in
the United States, by, among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale
and/or selling high throughput computer data storage products and/or services covered by
one or more claims of the ’177 patent. Such products and/or services include, by way of
example and without limitation, those implementing GFS, which are covered by one or
more claims of the ’177 patent. By making, using, importing, offering for sale, and/or
selling products and/or services that are covered by one or more claims of the ’177
patent, Defendant has injured Parallel Iron and is thus liable to Parallel Iron for
infringement of the ’177 patent pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §271.
22.

As a result of Defendant’s past infringement of the ’177 patent, Parallel

Iron has suffered monetary damages in an amount adequate to compensate for
Defendant’s past infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for

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Defendant’s use of the invention, together with interest and costs as fixed by the Court.
Parallel Iron will continue to suffer these monetary damages in the future unless
Defendant’s infringing activities are enjoined by this Court.
23.

Parallel Iron will be irreparably harmed unless this Court issues a

permanent injunction enjoining the infringement of ’177 patent by the Defendant and its
officers, directors, agents, servants, affiliates, employees, divisions, branches,
subsidiaries, parents, and all others who are in active concert or participation with it.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF
For the above reasons, Parallel Iron respectfully requests that this Court enter:
a.

A judgment in favor of Parallel Iron that Defendant has infringed the ’662

patent, the ’388 patent, and the ’177 patent;
b.

A permanent injunction enjoining Defendant 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 the ’662 patent, the ’388 patent,
and the ’177 patent;
c.

A judgment and order requiring Defendant to pay Parallel Iron its

damages, costs, expenses, and prejudgment and post-judgment interest for Defendant’s
infringement of the ’662 patent, the ’388 patent, and the ’177 patent as provided under 35
U.S.C. § 284; and
d.

Any and all other relief to which Parallel Iron may show itself to be

entitled.

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DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Parallel Iron, under Rule 38 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, requests a
trial by jury of any issues so triable by right.
Dated: March 6, 2013
BAYARD, P.A.
Of Counsel:
Alexander C. D. Giza
Paul Kroeger
RUSS, AUGUST & KABAT
12424 Wilshire Boulevard 12th Floor
Los Angeles, California 90025
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[phone]

/s/ Stephen B. Brauerman
Richard D. Kirk (rk0922)
Stephen B. Brauerman (sb4952)
222 Delaware Avenue, Suite 900
Wilmington, DE 19801
[phone]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Attorneys for Plaintiff Parallel Iron, LLC

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