DALLAS - Intellectual property trial lawyer Richard Sayles, co-founder of Sayles Werbner, is featured in a recent story published by The American Lawyer about a substantial, favorable verdict for Mr. Sayles' client Newegg Inc. following a weeklong patent infringement trial against Chicago-based Soverain Software.

The jury's verdict denied a series of patent infringement claims levied by Soverain against California-based Newegg, the world's second largest online retailer behind only Amazon.com. Distributed to thousands of subscribers across the nation, the article notes Soverain's prior success in forcing other major online retailers into licensing agreements after threatening them with patent infringement lawsuits.

In November 2007, Soverain sought to extend that streak by filing claims of patent infringement against eight retailers in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Tyler.  Newegg was the only defendant that chose to go to trial, and attorneys for Soverain asked jurors to award nearly $40 million.

But after hearing Mr. Sayles' closing arguments, the jury found that Soverain had not proved that Newegg directly infringed the company's patents, and awarded a nominal amount to Soverain for indirect infringement.

"[The damages verdict] wouldn't even pay for their expert witnesses in all likelihood," Mr. Sayles says in the article. "I was proud to stand up for a company that was willing to stand up at trial."
Read more...
Read more from Newegg...