RealNetworks, the company behind the digital media player, Real Player, has won a patent infringement lawsuit brought by San Francisco-based technology licensing company, Friskit. Frisket had been seeking damages of over US$70m (AUD$82m) against Real, but Judge William W. Schwarzer of the US District Court for the Northern District of California granted RealNetworks' motion for summary judgment invalidating the claims of four patents asserted by Friskit. In its motion, RealNetworks relied upon the recent legal decision in KSR vs Teleflex, in which the Supreme Court ruled on the proper standard for determining obviousness in patent cases. The Supreme Court rejected any "rigid" application of existing tests for obviousness in favour of the "expansive and flexible approach" set forth in the Supreme Court's earlier decisions. RealNetworks relied upon that analysis to argue that Friskit's patent claims relating to systems for enabling continuous streaming playback from internet sites were "obvious combinations of elements found in the prior art", including RealNetworks' own internet products.

Posted by GEN-ERIC at 03:14:46 am into the following categories: In The News

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