Federal court jury in Texas orders US Bank to pay $27 million in damages in patent case
By APMonday, March 29, 2010
Jury orders US Bank to pay $27M in patent case
DALLAS — A federal district court jury has ruled that U.S. Bank should pay $27 million to a Texas company that accused the bank of infringing on patented technology for processing checks.
The verdict in favor of DataTreasury Corp. was handed down Friday in Marshall, Texas. DataTreasury of Plano, Texas, said Minnesota-based U.S. Bank had infringed on its patented technology for capturing and storing images of written checks.
U.S. Bank spokeswoman Teri Charest said Monday that the company was disappointed in the verdict and believes that DataTreasury’s patents will eventually be judged invalid. She said U.S. Bank would continue to press its case at the district court level and on appeal.
DataTreasury claimed the patents covered inventions by its founder, Claudio Ballard, that helped speed the electronic exchange of checks reduced to digital images.
The U.S. Bank case was the first of three trials scheduled this year in DataTreasury lawsuits against financial institutions including Bank of America, the nation’s largest bank, and Wells Fargo. Other banks settled in recent years, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.
East Texas courts have been favored by patent-lawsuit plaintiffs because judges handle the cases quickly and juries are seen as sympathetic to plaintiffs.
Shares of U.S. Bank parent company U.S. Bancorp fell 3 cents to $25.97 in late-afternoon trading.
