Law360, New York (August 4, 2011) -- Financial services technology company Fiserv Inc. on Wednesday settled its way out of Gemini IP LLC's infringement suit in Texas against a number of companies over a patent for network-based customer service.
The terms of the settlement were not disclosed, and counsel for the parties declined to comment.
Gemini filed the suit Jan. 26 against eight defendants from varying business sectors: Fiserv, Xerox Corp., Computer Sciences Corp., Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd., Fidelity Information Services Inc., Novell Inc., Symantec Corp. and Zappos.com Inc.
It accused the companies of infringing U.S. Patent Number 6,177,932, issued in 2001 with a re-examination certificate issued in September, titled “Method and apparatus for network-based customer service."
The defendants' remote access and support services, for consumers and businesses alike, infringe the '932 patent, according to the suit.
The suit seeks a judgment that the defendants infringed the patent, injunctive relief and damages.
In March, Fiserv filed an answer and counterclaims against Gemini alleging patent invalidity, noninfringement and unenforceability.
“The '932 patent is not infringed by Fiserv because Fiserv does not make, use, sell, offer for sale, or import into the United States, and has not made, used, sold, offered for sale, or imported into the United States products that infringe any valid claim of the '932 patent, either directly, indirectly, contributorily or otherwise,” the company said in its counterclaims.
Fiserv is the third of the eight defendants to settle out of the suit. Zappos and Fidelity Information Services were terminated from the case July 19, according to the docket.
Gemini asserted the same patent against a slew of companies in 2007 in the same court. Some of the defendants, including IBM Corp., Best Buy Co. Inc. and teleconferencing software giant Premiere Global Services Inc., have settled that suit on undisclosed terms.
But several defendants named in the 2007 suit, including Sony Electronics Inc., continue to litigate.
The patent-in-suit is U.S. Patent Number 6,177,932.
Gemini is represented by Jim Otteson, Theresa E. Norton and Xiang Long of Agility IP Law, and William E. Davis III of The Davis Firm PC.
Fiserv is represented by Bryan G. Harrison of Morris Manning & Martin LLP and Michael E. Jones of Potter Minton PC.
The case is Gemini IP LLC v. Computer Sciences Corp. et al., case number 4:11-cv-00036, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
--Additional reporting by Pete Brush. Editing by John Williams.
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