Noerr Patent Group successful for TLI in litigation against Yahoo! (Flickr) and Pinterest Germany

Noerr LLP has successfully represented TLI Communications, a subsidiary of the U.S. patent monetization company Marathon, in two patent proceedings before the Munich Regional Court. The Court has ruled that the services “Flickr” and “Pinterest” as well as the associated apps for smartphones and tablet computers infringe patent EP 814 611 B1. Based on this judgment, Yahoo! and Pinterest Germany are forced to discontinue these services, refrain from selling the apps and are liable for damages.

Patent EP 814 611 B1 concerns a “communication system and procedure for receiving and managing digital images”. The technology is suitable for implementation in picture sharing platforms; it is used by the defendants and provided by them to third-party users.

The judgment is provisionally enforceable against provision of security. The defendants may appeal the judgment. Further lawsuits based on the same patent are pending against Tumblr, Inc., Pinterest, Inc., Box Inc., and Box.com (UK) Ltd. The trial in the parallel nullity proceedings before the German Federal Patent Court is scheduled to take place on 18 November 2016.

Noerr has already been successful for TLI in previous proceedings. The Munich Noerr partner and patent law expert Dr. Ralph Nack and the of counsel and patent lawyer Dr. Matthias Bosch acted as lead counsel.

Advisors to TLI Communications GmbH: Noerr LLP

Dr. Ralph Nack (Patent Law), Dr. Matthias Bosch (Patent Lawyer, Bosch Jehle)