Intellectual Property Law

Judge Thynge: Injunction Denied in Cordance

By Karen E. Keller, Andrew A. Lundgren et al.

In Cordance Corp. v. Amazon. com, Inc. et al., C.A. No. 06-491-MPT (D. Del. July 23, 2010), Judge Thynge denied Cordance Corp.'s request for an injunction or, in the alternative, for a royalty for ongoing damages. Amazon was found by a jury to infringe two valid claims of Cordance's U.S. Patent No. 6,757,710, which covers one-click purchasing technology. You may remember Amazon's lawsuit against Barnes and Noble over the one-click purchasing technology; that patent was U.S. 5,960,411, which recently survived reexamination. Cordance's one-click patent apparently preceded the Amazon one-click patent.

The case was bifurcated but, while an appeal is pending, Cordance moved for an injunction. The Court denied the injunction because of a lack of irreparable harm - Cordance has no competing product, and any harm can be remedied by monetary damages. Cordance's request for ongoing royalties was also denied, without prejudice. According to the Court, that issue will be better dealt with in the damages portion of the trial, after the Fed. Circuit rules on the appeal.

Cordance Corp. v. Amazon. com, Inc. et al., C.A. No. 06-491-MPT (D. Del. July 23, 2010)

Full post as published by Delaware IP Law Blog on August 06, 2010 (boomark / email).