Soverain: Newegg's Baseless Attack on U.S. Patent System Merely a Diversionary Tactic

CHICAGO, Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Soverain Software responds to Newegg's belated statement about a brief Newegg filed over a week ago which is filled with misrepresentations and yet still continues to confirm that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) wrongly ruled on the issue of obviousness in the validity of Soverain's patents. Soverain's reply, filed Friday at the U.S. Supreme Court, clarifies that the CAFC's ruling in Soverain v. Newegg violates the Supreme Court's longstanding precedent and the Seventh Amendment.

"Despite the many mischaracterizations presented by our opponents, the truth is that Chief Judge Leonard Davis, a federal jury in another case, and the Patent Office – on two separate occasions – agreed with Soverain and confirmed the validity of our patents," says Soverain President Katharine Wolanyk.  "What happened at the Federal Circuit is not proper legal process and we are confident that not only Soverain but also the law itself will prevail over this baseless assault by Newegg."

Soverain v. Newegg is a patent infringement lawsuit in which Chief Judge Leonard Davis ruled Soverain's patents were infringed by computer retailing giant Newegg.  On appeal, the CAFC improperly reviewed conflicting evidence, disregarded Soverain's evidence and expert testimony, and overreached its authority in wrongly invalidating Soverain's patents – despite Newegg only asking for a jury trial.  Soverain asked the Supreme Court to hear the case by filing a petition for a writ of certiorari which received amicus support and was opposed by Newegg.

"Newegg's self-declared war on all patents implies that the Patent Office has never issued a valid patent, which is a smear on the PTO, all patent owners and our nation's patent system," says Wolanyk.  "Litigating on 'principle' rather than merit is a form of litigation abuse, which is the subject of Chairman Goodlatte's focus and shows that defendants can also be trolls.  Intellectual property theft should not be legalized."

Soverain has written two letters to Chairman Goodlatte in order to correct the public record of inaccurate statements relating to its business and patents.  Soverain published its letters on its website as soon as they were issued.  When Newegg's letter is posted or made publicly available, Soverain will respond accordingly.

Court documents and information on Soverain v. Newegg can be found on Soverain's website at http://soverain.com/asp/news/news_case_summaries.asp

ABOUT SOVERAIN SOFTWARE

Soverain Software LLC provides ecommerce software and services for enterprises, focusing on the publishing, news syndicate and digital content industries.  Soverain's enterprise software product Transact has been in continuous use for 18 years, used by over 1,000 companies in over 25 countries, including well-known companies such as Time-Warner, AT&T, Sony, Disney, BusinessWeek and Reuters.  Our patented Internet commerce technology benefits both merchants and consumers by enabling secure and flexible online transactions.

SOURCE Soverain Software LLC