Kaspersky Lab the only one of 35 companies to defeat the patent troll IPAT

Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content and threat management solutions, recently announced that it has won a lawsuit against the patent troll IPAT (Information Protection and Authentication of Texas). More details after the jump.

Three and a half years ago, IPAT filed a lawsuit against Kaspersky Lab and 34 other IT and antivirus software companies, alleging patent infringements relating to technology for monitoring programs and data. All but one of the 35 companies against whom the lawsuit was filed succumbed to the U.S. patent troll (including such giants as Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee, and others).

These companies now have to pay up to $5 million annually to the patent aggregator RPX, which stepped in and promised relief from IPAT’s lawsuit.

Kaspersky Lab took the unequivocal stance of not bowing to pressure from IPAT and refused any and all of the settlement proposals and license agreements they offered. In June 2012, after more than three years of confrontation and litigation, IPAT grudgingly admitted defeat following a decision in favor of Kaspersky Lab from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

Additionally, the court accepted the request for a ruling ‘with prejudice’; meaning IPAT can’t bring any more claims against Kaspersky Lab regarding that particular patent.

Commenting on Kaspersky Lab’s victory, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO and co-founder of the company, stated: “This is a major achievement. Back in 2008 I said to our lawyers that there would be no backing down – we would go to court and fight it out with them. It was our first experience of a patent legal battle and we decided to stand our ground and stand up for our rights. Now we are mulling over ideas to strike back at the trolls. Not only are they extorting money, more importantly they are endangering technological progress!”

Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Kaspersky Lab, Nadezhda Kashchenko, commented: “The process was incredibly time-consuming for my team and our lawyers, all of whom faced numerous issues on a daily basis as they fought to ensure we successfully developed and implemented our defense. This just made us all the more determined to beat the patent trolls!”

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