On March 26, 2010, a jury in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas found US Bank, N.A. infringed check-imaging patents held by DataTreasury Corporation, awarding the patent holder $26,606,000 in damages. The jury also found the infringement was willful, which could lead the court to triple the damages.

DataTreasury has filed patent infringement lawsuits against eight banks, claiming damages of approximately $1.39 billion. The company asserts two of its patents, US Patent No. 5,910,988 and US Patent No. 6,032,137, both titled “Remote image capture with centralized processing and storage.” The patents issued in 1999 and 2000 and relate to the imaging, transmission and storage of checks.

The jury rejected arguments that the patents-at-issue were invalid due to prior art, obviousness or an inadequate written description. Attorneys for DataTreasury argued the patents-at-issue were valid not only because they were issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office but also because they survived an ex parte reexamination.

The $26 million verdict was less than what DataTreasury sought, but more than quadrupled the amount proposed by one defense expert. 

According to its statements, US Bank expects to challenge the finding in the district court as well as on appeal if necessary.

DataTreasury has several more trials against other banks scheduled for later in 2010, including against Wells Fargo in August and Bank of America in October. The company has already settled patent infringement lawsuits against JPMorgan Chase & Co., PNC Financial Services Group Inc., BB&T Corp. and First Horizon National Corp.

SOURCES:

Susan Decker and Dennis Robertson, “US Bancorp told by jury to pay $27 million to DataTreasury,” Bloomberg Businessweek, April 29, 2010 (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-27/u-s-bancorp-told-by-jury-to-pay-27-million-to-datatreasury.html); Joe Mullin, “Patent litigation weekly: with train win, DataTreasury licensing campaign gets boost,” Law.com, March 27, 2010 (http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/PubArticleCC.jsp?id=1202447460721&Patent_Litigation_Weekly_With_Trial_Win_DataTreasury_Licensing_Campaign_Gets_Boost); DataTreasury Corporation v. US Bank, N.A. et al., No. 2:06-CV-72 DF (E.D. Texas. March 27, 2010) (Verdict Form).