Interval Licensing LLC v. AOL, Inc. et al

Filing 143

REPLY by Defendant AOL Inc to #90 Notice of Joinder in Google's Motion to Dismiss. (Jost, Shannon)

Interval Licensing LLC v. eBay, Inc. et al

Doc. 143

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 v. AOL INC., et al., Defendants.

HONORABLE MARSHA J. PECHMAN

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE INTERVAL LICENSING LLC, Plaintiff, Case No.: 2:10-cv-01385-MJP DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS Note on Motion Calendar: Nov. 19, 2010 Oral Argument Requested

I. INTRODUCTION Defendant AOL Inc. ("AOL") respectfully joins in Defendants Google Inc. and YouTube, LLC's Reply in Support of their Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon which Relief Can be Granted Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (Dkt. 130) ("Google's Reply"). If Plaintiff Interval Licensing LLC's ("Interval") Complaint had pled sufficient facts concerning AOL's alleged infringement, rather than generic and all-encompassing conclusions of infringement, AOL would have answered the Complaint and the case could have proceeded apace. Interval's decision to omit such facts in its pleadings necessitated this motion, which AOL joins so that it can adequately assess Interval's allegations and prepare its defenses.

DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS - 2:10-cv-01385MJP
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STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.
800 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3179 [phone]

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II. ARGUMENT Rather than repeat the arguments and citations to authority set forth in Google's Reply, AOL hereby joins and incorporates by reference Google's Reply. AOL, like Google, is accused of infringing each of the four patents-in-suit. Interval's Complaint fails to identify a single accused product of any defendant, relying instead on catch-all terms such as "websites and associated hardware and software" and "products that display information." See Dkt. 1, Complaint, ¶¶ 21, 33, 39, 45. AOL's business exemplifies the emptiness of these generic allegations. As described on AOL's "Products and Services" webpage (http://corp.aol.com/products-services), AOL's business encompasses content, local products and services, paid services, advertising, consumer applications, and ventures. Together, these categories of products and services include more than 100 different primary websites (e.g., http://www.mapquest.com, a mapping website; http://www.engadget.com, a technology news website; http://www.aolhealth.com, a healthrelated website; http://www.moviefone.com, a movie show times and information website). Each primary website has numerous individual webpages within it (e.g., http://www.aolhealth.com/health-experts, a website providing health information from medical experts; http://www.aolhealth.com/news, a website providing health-related news). The references in Interval's Complaint to "websites and associated hardware and software" and "products that display information" provide no indication as to which of AOL's myriad websites are allegedly infringing. Because Interval's complaint is devoid of any specific factual allegations regarding infringement by AOL, the Complaint has failed to put AOL on notice of infringement as required by Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. AOL further observes that Interval's Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can be Granted (Dkt. 123) entirely neglects to address the deficiencies in the Complaint regarding alleged indirect infringement, which AOL discussed in its Joinder in Google's Motion to Dismiss. See Dkt. 90 at 3. The Complaint fails to plead essential elements of indirect infringement, such as AOL's inducement or contribution to
DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS - 2:10-cv-01385MJP
49345-001\ 593466.doc

STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.
800 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3179 [phone]

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direct infringement by another, or AOL's knowledge of the patents-in-suit. See id. The Complaint, therefore, fails to state a claim for indirect infringement under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. III. CONCLUSION For the reasons stated above and in Google's Reply, the Court should dismiss Interval's Complaint against AOL because Interval's Complaint fails to meet the pleading standards of Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. DATED this 19th day of November, 2010. STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.

By: s/ Shannon M. Jost Shannon M. Jost (WSBA #32511) Scott A.W. Johnson (WSBA #15543) Aneelah Afzali (WSBA #34552) and Admitted Pro Hac Vice Gerald F. Ivey FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP 901 New York Ave., NW Washington, DC 20001 Admitted Pro Hac Vice Robert L. Burns Elliot C. Cook FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP Two Freedom Square 11955 Freedom Drive, Suite 800 Reston, VA 20190 Admitted Pro Hac Vice Cortney S. Alexander FINNEGAN, HENDERSON, FARABOW, GARRETT & DUNNER, LLP 3500 SunTrust Plaza 303 Peachtree Street NE Atlanta, GA 30308 Attorneys for Defendant AOL Inc.

DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS - 2:10-cv-01385MJP
49345-001\ 593466.doc

STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.
800 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3179 [phone]

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that on November 19, 2010, I caused the foregoing DEFENDANT AOL INC.'s JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS to be: electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the following: Attorneys for Plaintiff Interval Licensing LLC Justin A. Nelson ([e-mail]) Eric J. Enger ([e-mail]) Matthew R. Berry ([e-mail]) Max L. Tribble ([e-mail]) Michael F. Heim ([e-mail]) Nathan J. Davis ([e-mail]) Edgar G. Sargent ([e-mail]) Attorneys for OfficeMax, Inc. Kevin C. Baumgardner ([e-mail]) Steven W. Fogg ([e-mail]) Jeffrey D. Neumeyer ([e-mail]) John S. Letchinger ([e-mail]) Douglas S. Rupert ([e-mail]) Attorneys for Yahoo! Mark P. Walters ([e-mail]) Dario A. Machleidt ([e-mail]) Francis Ho ([e-mail]) Richard S. J. Hung ([e-mail]) Michael Jacobs ([e-mail]) Matthew I. Kreeger ([e-mail]) Eric W. Ow ([e-mail]) Attorneys for eBay Inc., NetFlix, Inc., Office Depot, Inc. and Staples, Inc. J. Christopher Carraway ([e-mail]) John D. Vandenberg ([e-mail]) Arthur W. Harrigan, Jr. ([e-mail]) Christopher T. Wion ([e-mail]) Kristin L. Cleveland ([e-mail]) Klaus H. Hamm ([e-mail]) Attorneys for Apple Inc. Scott T. Wilsdon ([e-mail]) Jeremy E. Roller ([e-mail]) David S. Almeling ([e-mail]) George A. Riley ([e-mail]) Brian M. Berliner ([e-mail]) Neil L. Yang ([e-mail])

DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS - 2:10-cv-01385MJP
49345-001\ 593466.doc

STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.
800 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3179 [phone]

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Attorneys for Facebook Inc. Christopher B. Durbin ([e-mail]) Christen M. R. Dubois ([e-mail]) Heidi L. Keefe ([e-mail]) Elizabeth L. Stameshkin ([e-mail]) Mark R. Weinstein ([e-mail]) Michael G. Rhodes ([e-mail]) Attorneys for Google Inc. and YouTube, LLC Dimitrios T. Drivas ([e-mail]) Kevin X. McGann ([e-mail]) John Handy ([e-mail]) Aaron Chase ([e-mail]) Warren S. Heit ([e-mail]) Wendi R. Schepler ([e-mail])

s/ Shannon M. Jost Shannon M. Jost (WSBA #32511) Attorney for Defendant AOL Inc. Stokes Lawrence, P.S. 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4000 Seattle, WA 98104 [phone] Fax: [phone] [e-mail]

DEFENDANT AOL INC.'S JOINDER IN GOOGLE'S AND YOUTUBE'S REPLY IN SUPPORT OF THEIR MOTION TO DISMISS - 2:10-cv-01385MJP
49345-001\ 593466.doc

STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S.
800 FIFTH AVENUE, SUITE 4000 SEATTLE, WASHINGTON 98104-3179 [phone]

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