Dallas-based DeepNines wins $18 million patent lawsuit against McAfee

by PegNews wire

DALLAS — Dallas-based Deep Nines Inc. announced today that it won its patent infringement lawsuit against competitor McAfee, Inc.

On July 15, 2008, a unanimous jury in the Beaumont Division of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas found that McAfee's IntruShield product line directly infringes, and that McAfee actively induced and contributed to its customers' infringement, of DeepNines’ US. Patent No. 7,058,976, also known as the “’976 Patent”. Judge Ron Clark also ruled that DeepNines did not commit inequitable conduct while the application for the ’976 Patent was pending, as alleged by McAfee. McAfee had originally alleged infringement of two McAfee patents and invalidity of the ’976 Patent, but dropped those claims in the days preceding the trial.

“The jury’s decision further validates our intellectual property and its significance in the network security market. We will continue to leverage our patented technology in the development of our industry-leading security solutions,” said Sue Dark, founder and CEO of DeepNines.

DeepNines and McAfee have been involved in litigation regarding this patent for nearly five years, beginning with an interference filed by DeepNines in 2003 after U.S. Patent No. 6,513,122, also known as the "122 Patent” was awarded to McAfee. While the application for the ’976 Patent was pending, the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded McAfee’s claims from the ’122 patent to DeepNines through a process called an interference. After winning the interference in March of 2005, the ’976 Patent went through another round of reviews by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, primarily based upon a third party protest launched by McAfee. Deep Nines slightly amended the ’122 patent claims before they issued as the claims of the ’976 Patent in June of 2006.

“We feel our win is a significant victory for other small stakeholders who have been pioneers in the technology field,” said Dan Jackson, president and COO of DeepNines. “This was a classic ‘David vs. Goliath’ case and we are thrilled that justice prevailed.”

Source: DeepNines