Internet Security Companies Triumph In Patent Infringement Case

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

12 March 2003

A jury in Delaware last week threw out four patent infringement claims against leading internet security companies which, if they had been successful, could have substantially increased the cost of doing business via the internet.

According to a report from the IDG news service, Leon Stambler of Florida asserted that the seven patents which he was granted between 1993 and 1999 covered the commonly used Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), a security measure used to scramble data passing from customers to websites during online transactions.

In February 2001, Mr Stambler filed a lawsuit against several security companies - among them Verisign and RSA Security - asking for compensation for the use of his technology. Two agreed to settle with him, but RSA and Verisign refused, leading to the trial which has now ended.

However, according to IDG, the process is far from over:

'A second trial, focusing on the validity of Stambler's patents, starts Wednesday in Delaware, and Stambler's lawyer, Douglas Whitney, said he believes he will have grounds to appeal the jury verdict, depending on the outcome of the second trial. The Delaware court will also review jury decisions from both of the trials and could potentially overturn them.'

Speaking to IDG, Mr Whitney confirmed that the fight between his client and the internet security giants is just beginning:

'It's the first round in a 10-rounder,' he explained. 'They're not off the hook. They've won the first round, and there are several proceedings ahead of us.'

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