The prolific non-practicing entity EMG Technology LLC has enjoyed great success asserting a patent on mobile website technology. But after six years of lawsuits, EMG’s patent is now on life support following a rare pretrial defense win in the Eastern District of Texas.
In a summary judgment ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in Tyler, Tx., ruled that AutoZone Inc. and J.C. Penney Corporation Inc. don’t infringe EMG’s patent under a theory known as the doctrine of equivalents. EMG can still claim so-called literal infringement, but Schneider wrote that EMG needs to submit a status report explaining why pursuing that theory wouldn’t be frivolous under his order, suggesting he doesn’t think highly of EMG’s odds. (Here’s a breakdown of the difference between literal infringement and infringement under the doctrine of equivalents.)
