United States Federal Circuit

In a dispute over a patent relating to a method of providing network customers with access to a network, such as the internet, when they are away from their normal base of operations, summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of internet service providers is affirmed where: 1) plaintiff did not lack standing to bring an infringement action; and 2) the district court correctly found that authentication was a required function of a Network Service Provider (NSP) and that the functions performed by the NSP in the defendants' systems do not constitute authentication.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/20/2007
• Published 02/20/2007

Judges

• BRYSON, Circuit Judge., Before NEWMAN, SCHALL, and BRYSON, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Douglas A. Cawley, McKool Smith, P.C., of Dallas, Texas, argued for plaintiff-appellant.   With him on the brief were Theodore Stevenson, III, David Sochia, Christopher T. Bovenkamp, Charles W. Miller, and Bradley Wayne Caldwell.


• For Appellees:
  
• L. Norwood Jameson, Duane Morris LLP, of Atlanta, Georgia, argued for defendants-appellees and defendants/cross-appellants, Earthlink, Inc. With him on the brief were Matthew C. Gaudet and Claus D. Melarti for Earthlink, Inc.;   and Timothy G. Newman and Russell W. White, Larson Newman Abel Polansky & White, LLP, of Austin, Texas, for Southwestern Bell Internet Services, Inc., et al.   Of counsel was Anthony A. Sheldon, Cardinal Law Group, of Evanston Illinois., William J. Robinson and Ronald Coslick, Foley & Lardner, LLP, of Los Angeles, California, for defendants-cross appellants, Netzero, Inc., et al.