Optiontown Files Patent Infringement Lawsuit over Airline Upgrade Technology

WILMINGTON, Del., Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Boston-based airline travel option provider Optiontown LLC and the company's owner, Tenon & Groove, LLC, are announcing a patent infringement lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against New York-based Plusgrade S.E.C. and Plusgrade U.S. LLC ("Defendants").

The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 10, 2012, includes claims that the Defendants' products and services infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 7,418,409 ('409 patent) and 8,145,536 ('536 patent). Both patents, issued to Optiontown founder Sachin Goel by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, are titled "System for Concurrent Optimization of Business Economics and Customer Value Satisfaction." Mr. Goel is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  He has performed extensive research on collaboration and concurrent optimization, the guiding principles behind Optiontown's core technology.

The lawsuit alleges that the patents cover Optiontown's innovative Upgrade Travel option ("UTo") product, a program that offers air travelers upgrades to higher-class seats, enhancing both the travel experience and airline revenue. The lawsuit further alleges that the Defendants are infringing the '409 and '536 patents by making, using, selling and offering to sell certain upgrade products and services to airline customers that embody Optiontown's patented systems and methods. Both the '409 and '536 patents claim priority from 2003 and were granted in 2008, before the Defendants existed as companies.

Optiontown is requesting monetary damages as well as an order permanently enjoining the Defendants from continuing the alleged infringement. The lawsuit also seeks a ruling that the Defendants are in violation of the Lanham Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the False Marking statute based on claims that the Defendants are falsely marking their products and services as "patented."

Optiontown is represented by the Dallas law firm Skiermont Puckett LLP. The lawsuit is Tenon & Groove, LLC, et al. v. Plusgrade SEC (a/k/a Plusgrade LP), et al., No. 12-cv-01118 (D. Del.).

About Tenon & Groove and Optiontown

Tenon & Groove, the owner of the Optiontown patent portfolio, was founded by Mr. Goel in 2003. Optiontown LLC is an exclusive licensee of the patent portfolio (which includes the '409 and '536 Patents mentioned above) and is a pioneer in the field of travel option technologies. Optiontown has invested years of effort and substantial resources in developing the groundbreaking portfolio of concurrent optimization products and technologies for travel-related industries, particularly for airlines and airline passengers.

A copy of the Complaint filed with the Delaware court can be found here https://www.optiontown.com/xssfghadfdf/58120912patentinfringementsep12PR.html

Inquiries may be directed to Paul J. Skiermont, 214-978-6600, http://www.skiermontpuckett.com.

SOURCE Skiermont Puckett LLP