BELLEVUE, Wash.– EagleView®, a leading technology provider of aerial imagery and data analytics, announced a significant appellate victory regarding the validity of the EagleView patents and technology in its ongoing patent litigation against Xactware and Verisk.
As previously reported, Xactware and Verisk filed over a dozen petitions with the United States Patent Trial and Appeals Board in an effort to invalidate nine of EagleView’s patents. EagleView defeated those challenges, a win previously covered by Law360 in an article titled “Xactware Challenges to Rival’s Patents End with a Whimper,” https://www.kirkland.com/news/in-the-news/2017/08/xactware-challenges-to-rivals-patents-end-with-a-w.
Xactware and Verisk subsequently appealed its losses to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, contending that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeals Board incorrectly upheld the validity of the EagleView patents. A panel of three Federal Judges heard arguments on Xactware and Verisk’s appeal this week, on March 4, 2019. Two days later, on March 6, 2019, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeals Board’s findings that EagleView’s patents were valid over Xactware and Verisk’s contentions, once again shutting down Xactware and Verisk’s serial attempts to challenge the validity of the very technology they previously tried to purchase. The court explained that there was “substantial evidence” supporting the Patent Office’s view that the EagleView patent claims are valid and expressed that Xactware’s arguments to the contrary were “unpersuasive.”
“EagleView has faced a series of serial attacks on its patents by Xactware and Verisk, and once again, a Court has upheld the validity of our intellectual property,” EagleView CEO Rishi Daga said. “This is simply the latest in Xactware and Verisk’s years-long attempt to illegally and unfairly compete by copying our innovations. Courts have repeatedly rejected Xactware and Verisk’s arguments, and we are looking forward to presenting our case to a jury at our trial starting on June 10. We strongly believe that a jury will agree that Xactware and Verisk are intentionally using our patented technology and that they must pay for their wrong behavior.”
Background
In late 2015, EagleView filed a lawsuit against Xactware Solutions, Inc. (“Xactware”) and Verisk Analytics, Inc., (“Verisk”) for their willful infringement of EagleView patents covering key technologies. The lawsuit (EagleView Technologies, Inc. and Pictometry Int’l Corp., v. Xactware Solutions, Inc. and Verisk Analytics, Inc., case number 1:15-cv-07025) is currently in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
This lawsuit is necessary to hold Xactware and Verisk accountable for their actions. The Defendants long coveted and publicly lauded EagleView’s industry-changing technologies, but when the Defendants’ attempt to purchase EagleView failed, the Defendants resorted to copying EagleView’s technologies rather than competing fairly by developing their own solutions.
Xactware and Verisk have taken numerous steps to prevent EagleView’s claims from reaching a jury, including repeatedly arguing that EagleView’s successful and widely-praised technology is not entitled to patent protection. Xactware and Verisk have twice asked the District Court to invalidate the asserted claims in the six EagleView patents at issue under 35 U.S.C. § 101, arguing that each patent claimed abstract ideas and lacked any inventive concept. On Tuesday, January 29, 2019, the Court again rejected the Defendants’ arguments and denied their motion for summary judgment, clearing the way for EagleView’s case to go to trial.
The Defendants earlier challenged the validity of EagleView’s patents with the U.S. Patent Office, where EagleView also defeated Xactware and Verisk’s efforts to invalidate nine of EagleView’s patents (six of which are at issue in the § 101 decision) in the Patent Trial and Appeal Board or PTAB. Those wins were previously covered by Law360 in an article titled “Xactware Challenges to Rival’s Patents End with a Whimper,” https://www.kirkland.com/news/in-the-news/2017/08/xactware-challenges-to-rivals-patents-end-with-a-w. Defendants appealed these decisions, and the Federal Circuit heard arguments on March 4, 2019. Two days later, on March 6, it issued a decision affirming the Board and confirming the patentability of almost 30 claims of the ‘454, ‘152, ‘770, and ‘737 patents.
About EagleView
EagleView is transforming the way you work by bringing you the highest level of accuracy in a constantly changing world. EagleView combines imagery that reveals the finest and most important details with computer vision to help you identify insights into any location—from anywhere. By delivering timely, comprehensive answers to complex questions, we help professionals across industries improve people’s lives and make informed decisions for the present and future. For more information, call (866) 659-8439, visit eagleview.com and follow @eagleviewtech.
