GT Nexus spars with INTTRA over patents

GT Nexus spars with INTTRA over patents    Shipping portal GT Nexus filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., on May 2, claiming rival INTTRA is attempting to pressure GT Nexus, its customers and partners by asserting GT Nexus requires a license to INTTRA patents.
   GT Nexus' complaint said it believes it needs no such license because it is not infringing INTTRA’s patents, but “believes that the danger that INTTRA will sue it alleging infringement of the INTTRA patents is real and imminent.”
   GT Nexus asks the court to declare four INTTRA patents obtained last year to be invalid, that GT Nexus has not infringed on them, and to enjoin INTTRA from enforcing the patents or claiming GT Nexus is infringing on them.
   INTTRA issued a press release last October about three of the patents, saying they “relate to various INTTRA products and services, including multicarrier track-and-trace functionality and booking functionality.” GT Nexus said the fourth patent, which was issued in November, was related.
   The lawsuit said on April 4 John DeBenedette, INTTRA’s vice president of commercial, sent an e-mail to GT Nexus President John Urban offering GT Nexus a license to INTTRA’s intellectual property “in connection with certain unacceptable business demands.” GT Nexus said it believed the e-mail was referring to the patents cited in its complaint.
   “The e-mail concluded that GT Nexus should license INTTRA’s patents now as part of a broader business alliance, set a May deadline for acceptance of INTTRA’s offer, and threatened increased risks if GT Nexus elected not to do so,” the complaint says.
   “INTTRA has engaged in a longstanding effort to coerce GT Nexus into a business alliance. Now that INTTRA has the INTTRA patents, GT Nexus believes that INTTRA will use its patents in an attempt to gain leverage against GT Nexus. In sum, GT Nexus took INTTRA’s e-mail as a threat to sue it for patent infringement.”
   GT Nexus also alleges “INTTRA and its partners have recently asserted that GT Nexus infringes the INTTRA patents in an attempt to pressure GT Nexus’ customers and partners to do business with INTTRA.” GT Nexus said the complaint is not only to protect itself from INTTRA’s assertions, but also to protect GT Nexus customers.
   INTTRA said its policy is “not to comment on pending legal matters. However, we will affirm that we believe the case has no merit and we will be actively defending our rights in court.” ' Chris Dupin