AmiCOUR IP Group News and Opinions

Welcome to the AmiCOUR IP Blog.  We invite your comments.  Past Issues.

December 13, 2010 - The Judge in investor and philanthropist Paul Allen's Interval Licensing v. AOL, Apple, eBay Facebook, Google, Netfilx, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Staples, Yahoo, and YouTube patent infringement case has dismissed his complaint, specifically stating "with leave to amend." According to WSJ's online coverage, Allen's attorneys view the dismissal as a minor issue. The ruling went on to state, "Plaintiff does not indicate with any specificity which of Defendants’ products or devices infringe the patents."  FRCP offers Form 18 as an example complaint, according to the ruling, which included a host of citations: “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. at 1949 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555). A plaintiff must “provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief.’” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citations omitted). “A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’” Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. at 1949 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555).  This Blog reported on Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's comments about Allen in August 2010.