Overstock.com Will Appeal $4M Patent Infringement Case

Online shopping retailer, Overstock.com, Inc.

announced it would appeal the $4 million verdict rendered Friday, Jan. 16 in a patent infringement case in Marshall, Texas. Without prior notice, the plaintiff, Droplets, filed its case in 2011, and at trial alleged damages of $12.2 million against Overstock.com for infringement of three related patents, the first of which was filed in 2000, and issued in 2004. Overstock denied infringement, contested the validity of the patents and the high damage figure Droplets demanded. "We are disappointed. We believe we do not infringe the patents, and will appeal this verdict as soon as possible," said Mark Griffin, general counsel of Overstock.com. "We will continue this fight at the next level where we are confident of a different outcome." At trial, Overstock.com showed that Droplets created a product intended to address an internet speed problem. But as the internet evolved, other technologies resolved the speed problem and Droplets then, in Overstock.com's view, turned from product production to litigation as a business model. "The abstract technical nature of the patents was particularly difficult," said Griffin. "We also believe Droplets used a highly inflated and improper damage model, and relied upon license comparisons that were also improper. We will make these issues the center of our appeal." Separately, co-defendants, Sears and Kmart were collectively assessed $11 million in the verdict.