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Newegg defeats 'shopping cart' patent troll that sued nearly 50 online retailers

Newegg defeats 'shopping cart' patent troll that sued nearly 50 online retailers

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Newegg logo box (1020)
Newegg logo box (1020)

Soverain, a serial patent troll that successfully won a $17.9 million case against Ann Summers and Avon using its "shopping cart" patents, has been defeated by online retailer Newegg. After losing a case against Soverain back in 2007, the electronics reseller decided to appeal the ruling, and recently saw the decision overturned. As Ars Technica reports, Soverain is currently suing US giants like Kohl's, Bloomingdales, Walgreens, and Home Depot; by winning its appeal, Newegg has effectively invalidated the patents for use in any future cases.

Chief Legal Officer Lee Cheng told Ars that Newegg has "been hit by companies that claim to own the drop-down menu, or a search box, or Web navigation. In fact, I think there's at least four that claim to 'own' some part of a search box." He says that his company has "never lost a patent case" (discounting the now-overturned verdict), and will continue to fight against trolls. "Seriously, screw them — you can quote me on that."