WILMINGTON, Del. – A federal judge has agreed to separate patent infringement claims against a group of technology vendors and credit unions regarding a patent for card customization technology and send them to different courts, creating three different venues for British patent holder Serverside Group to pursue its claims.
The court’s ruling favors the credit union defendants because it will require the British company to call witnesses and pursue cases in Iowa and Colorado, as well as Delaware, and because it removes several of the claims from the Delaware court, which is known as one of the most pro-plaintiff in patent suits.
Serverside has claimed in its suits that several vendors, credit unions and banks have infringed on its patent for card customization technology marketed as MyPhotoCard, Picture My Card, Design Your Own Card, Creata Card and Cre8 My Card.
Despite the setback, Serverside said it will continue its legal claims. “Given the robustness of our case, we look forward to pursuing the defendants in Colorado and Iowa,” Michael Campbell, Serverside’s general counsel, told Credit Union Journal. “We are also eager to prosecute our claims against the defendants that remain in Delaware.”
“Last week’s ruling was purely procedural and had nothing to do with the merits of our infringement claims,” said Campbell. “In fact, Judge Andrews’ decision clears the way for us to begin pursuing discovery and developing the substance of our case.”
The judge ruled Delaware was not the proper jurisdiction to hear Serverside’s claims against two groups: T8 and Bank Iowa; and CPI Card Group, PSCU Financial Services, Anheuser Busch Employees FCU, Neighbors CU and The Members Group, because none of the entities actually does business in Delaware. Those claims will be moved to the federal court in each of those states.
The Delaware court will continue to hear the dispute Serverside has with JHA Payment Processing, Credit Union 1, Dimpledough and Eastern Bank.
Two other credit union entities, Florida CUSO United Solutions and Michigan CUSO Design One Creative, and American State Bank, all agreed to settle the patent claims with Serverside by signing a licensing agreement.
