Beneficial Innovations Inc., the Nevada-based patent licensing company run by inventor and retired lawyer Sheldon Goldberg, shifted strategies this week. With a trial date nearing, Goldberg and his contingency fee lawyers at Dovel & Luner dropped a patent case against Amazon.com Inc. without recovering a cent. But they immediately picked a new fight, suing Microsoft Corp. on the same day in the same court over some of the same patents on online advertising technology.
Beneficial’s case against Amazon was scheduled for trial on Aug. 11. In a short order issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap in Marshall, Texas refused to reconsider a magistrate judge’s ruling that limited Beneficial’s potential recovery. The next day, Beneficial voluntarily dismissed with prejudice its long-running claims that Amazon infringed two of its patents. Sources with knowledge of the case say there was no monetary settlement.
