Inventor Holdings LLC v. Google Inc.

Filing 1

COMPLAINT filed with Jury Demand against Google Inc. - Magistrate Consent Notice to Pltf. ( Filing fee $ 400, receipt number 311-1460466.) - filed by Inventor Holdings LLC. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Civil Cover Sheet)(dmp, )

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
INVENTOR HOLDINGS, LLC,
Plaintiff,
v.
GOOGLE INC.,
Defendant.

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) Civil Action No._______________
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) JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
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COMPLAINT

For its Complaint, Plaintiff Inventor Holdings, LLC ("Inventor Holdings"), by
and through the undersigned counsel, alleges as follows:
THE PARTIES
1.

Inventor Holdings is a Delaware limited liability company with a place of

business located at Two High Ridge Park, Stamford, Connecticut 06905.

Inventor

Holdings is the current owner of patents developed by Walker Digital, LLC ("Walker
Digital"), a research and development laboratory that has been the genesis for many
successful businesses, including Priceline.com and Synapse Group, Inc.
2.

Defendant Google Inc. ("Google") is a Delaware corporation with, upon

information and belief, a place of business located at 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway,
Mountain View, California 94043.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
3.

This action arises under the Patent Act, 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.

4.

Subject matter jurisdiction is proper in this Court under 28 U.S.C.

§§ 1331 and 1338.

5.

Upon information and belief, Google conducts substantial business in this

forum, directly or through intermediaries, including:

(i) at least a portion of the

infringements alleged herein; and (ii) regularly doing or soliciting business, engaging in
other persistent courses of conduct and/or deriving substantial revenue from goods and
services provided to individuals in Delaware.
6.

Venue is proper in this District pursuant to §§ 1391(b), (c) and 1400(b).
THE PATENT-IN-SUIT

7.

On October 15, 2013, United States Patent No. 8,558,921 (the "'921

patent"), entitled "Systems And Methods For Suggesting Meta-Information To A Camera
User" and listing Jay S. Walker, James A. Jorasch and Russell P. Sammon as inventors,
was duly and lawfully issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO"). A
true and correct copy of the '921 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
8.

Inventor Holdings is the assignee and owner of the right, title and interest

in and to the '921 patent, including the right to assert all causes of action arising under
said patent and the right to any remedies for infringement of it.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
9.

Walker Digital is a research and development laboratory that has invested

many millions of dollars in the development of its intellectual property. Walker Digital
was comprised of a diverse group of inventors who solve business problems by studying
human behavior and designing innovative solutions utilizing modern information
technologies. Walker Digital's invention team has created a portfolio of more than 700
U.S. and international patents in a wide range of industries that include retail, vending,
credit cards, security, gaming, educational testing and entertainment. Jay Walker, the
chairman of Walker Digital, is best known as the founder of Priceline.com, which
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brought unprecedented technology and a new level of value to the travel industry. The
business processes that guide Priceline.com's success were created in the invention lab of
Walker Digital. As an inventor, Mr. Walker is named on more than 450 issued and
pending U.S. and international patents.
10.

Walker Digital invested large sums of money to develop the inventions of

Mr. Walker and the team of innovators. This investment was used for many things,
including the development of laboratory facilities to assist with the development and
testing of new inventions which, in turn, generated additional new inventions. Many of
these new inventions have been the genesis for successful businesses, including
Priceline.com and Synapse Group, Inc.

Revolutionary technologies, including the

method and system for processing payments for remotely purchased goods claimed in the
'921 patent, were a direct result of that investment. In September 2013, Walker Digital
assigned patents in its patent portfolio, including the '921 patent, to Inventor Holdings in
connection with a corporate restructuring. At that time, Inventor Holdings became a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Patent Properties, Inc., which is a public company. Walker
Digital has a controlling interest in Patent Properties, Inc., and Jay Walker is the
Executive Chairman of Patent Properties, Inc.
11.

The '921 patent represents important advances in the field of photo

tagging. The subject matter of the '921 patent includes, but is not limited to, analysis of
content of digital images and identifying objects in digital images.
COUNT I – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,558,921
12.

Inventor Holdings repeats and realleges the allegations of paragraphs 1

through 11 as if fully set forth herein.

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13.

Without license or authorization and in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(a),

Google has infringed and continues to infringe at least claim 16 of the '921 patent by
making, using, offering for sale, and/or selling within this district and elsewhere in the
United States and/or importing into this district and elsewhere in the United States,
methods for facilitating analysis of a digital image, including, but not limited to, Picasa
and Google+.
14.

Inventor Holdings is entitled to recover from Google the damages

sustained by Inventor Holdings as a result of Google's infringement of the '921 patent in
an amount subject to proof at trial, which, by law, cannot be less than a reasonable
royalty, together with interest and costs as fixed by this Court under 35 U.S.C. § 284.
JURY DEMAND
Inventor Holdings hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues so triable.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Inventor Holdings requests that this Court enter judgment against
Google as follows:
A.

An adjudication that Google has infringed the '921 patent;

B.

An award of damages to be paid by Google adequate to compensate

Inventor Holdings for Google's past infringement of the '921 patent and any continuing or
future infringement through the date such judgment is entered, including interest, costs,
expenses and an accounting of all infringing acts including, but not limited to, those acts
not presented at trial;
C.

A declaration that this case is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285, and an

award of Inventor Holdings' reasonable attorneys' fees; and

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D.

An award to Inventor Holdings of such further relief at law or in equity as

the Court deems just and proper.

Dated: February 12, 2014

STAMOULIS & WEINBLATT LLC
/s/ Richard C. Weinblatt
Stamatios Stamoulis #4606
[e-mail]
Richard C. Weinblatt #5080
[e-mail]
Two Fox Point Centre
6 Denny Road, Suite 307
Wilmington, DE 19809
Telephone: [phone]
Attorneys for Plaintiff
Inventor Holdings, LLC

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