U.S. Bank lost a patent-infringement case in federal district court, with the jury ordering them to pay $27 million in damages to DataTreasury Corp., which has patents on the technology used to capture and store images of checks. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) have trials set in 2010 over the same issue.
The case will be appealed to higher courts, as a spokeswoman from U.S. Bank said the company believes the patents will ultimately be ruled invalid. U.S. Bank is a subsidiary of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB).
DataTreasury is a payment processor based in Plano, Texas, and the technology it has patented is used for the recording, transfer and storing of check images. If you use online banking you know what those are and look like.
With a settlement and a loss now, it seems going forward will be an exercise in futility by Bank of America and Wells Fargo, but that could also depend on what happens with the appeal by U.S. Bank and whether the jury decision is overturned.
There is a possibility of the decision being overruled, as the East Texas region where the trial took place is considered an area of the country where plaintiffs are favored over the defendants in general, which may mean things aren’t quite as cut and dried as it seems in the case..
