But Alcatel seems to have hit a rough patch in its IP litigation efforts. Last week a federal judge in San Diego indicated that she may reduce a $70 million award against Microsoft to $26.3 million, according to a Bloomberg report. And Friday, a federal jury in Tyler, Tx., not only tossed patent infringement claims brought by Alcatel-Lucent against online retailers Overstock.com Inc. and Newegg Inc., but also invalidated one of the three patents Alcatel asserted in the case.
In a statement issued on Monday, Overstock.com likened Alcatel-Lucent to a patent troll. But Alcatel-Lucent is a huge, operating business, and its patent portfolio is massive compared to companies like Newegg and Overstock. “This was really a David and Goliath story,” said John Barr of Bracewell & Giuliani, who represented Overstock. Barr tried the case alongside Newegg’s lawyers at Pittsburgh’s Webb Law Firm, lead by Kent Baldauf. Edward Reines of Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted in a supporting role for Newegg.
