MARSHALL, Texas – A local patent company last week filed suit against Pentagon FCU and a dozen other entities claiming they are infringing on its patent for transmitting data in an encrypted format.
The firm, TQP Development LLC, claims the Virginia-based credit union is illegally using its patented technology on various websites and internal systems that transmit data comprising a sequence of blocks in encrypted form. For example, when a PenFed member connects to the website, a communication link is established between host servers and the client computer. Data transmitted over the communication link comprises a sequence of blocks and is transmitted as packets in a sequence over the communication link. Certain data allegedly are encrypted according to the company’s patent. In order to communicate with the encrypted portions of PenFed’s website, client computers must agree to an encryption algorithm or protocol. TQP claims this process infringed on its patent.
Other parties sued by the Marshall, Texas, company include Security Service FCU, Wells Fargo, KeyCorp, Bank of New York Mellon, Barclay’s, Flowers.com, Dell Inc., Alliance Life, Caterpillar, Alaska Air, DirectTV and Merrill Lynch.
