Wiley Rein Represents Openet in Summary Judgment Win Against Amdocs in a Key Patent Case

October 2, 2012

Ireland’s largest privately held software company, Openet, secured a victory against Israeli rival and software services giant Amdocs when the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia concluded that Openet’s accused software did not infringe on patents owned by Amdocs. 

James H. Wallace Jr., chair of Wiley Rein’s Patent Group, along with Anthony Son and Brian Pandya led the Wiley Rein legal team on behalf of Openet in Amdocs (Israel) Limited v. Openet Telecom, Inc. et. al. Other members of the litigation team included partners Karyn Ablin, Kevin Anderson, Gregory Lyons and Eric Weisblatt, and associates Karin Hessler and Adrienne Johnson.

The two companies provide data processing software to telecommunications and cable companies.  On August 16, 2010, Amdocs filed a lawsuit alleging that Openet infringed on two of its U.S. patents and sought money damages and an injunction against the sale of certain Openet products.  In January 2011, two additional Amdocs patents were added to the case.  Amdocs sought an injunction related to Openet’s products, which have the ability to gather, combine and synthesize large quantities of data generated within one of the world’s most comprehensive networks.

Joe Hogan, Openet’s founder and Chief Technology Officer commented on the litigation: “Openet had never previously been involved in major litigation.  We were faced with the challenge of having a major competitor launch a proceeding designed to extract large amounts of damages and enjoin key parts of our business.  Our owners, employees and customers will be grateful for the superb efforts of the entire Wiley Rein legal team led by Jim Wallace, Anthony Son and Brian Pandya.”

On September 27, 2012, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, issued an Order holding that none of the accused Openet products infringes the four asserted patents; however the full memorandum opinion will be issued in the near future.

Wiley Rein’s Intellectual Property Practice group offers services for owners and users of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, with a strategic focus on new technologies and dedicated specialists in each of these areas. The firm is known specifically for its infringement litigation capabilities, its public policy advocacy, its licensing expertise, its analysis and valuation of intellectual property assets, its dealings with relevant government agencies and its experience in dealing with music licensing and rights management technology. In recognizing the firm’s Intellectual Property Practice, Chambers USA has noted that “the highly impressive litigation work undertaken by Wiley Rein spans patent, trademark and copyright IP.”