Internet Gambling Patent: US Default Judgment Rendered

1^st Technology LLC this past week received Notice of Intent to Issue Reexamination Certificate ("Notice") for 1^st Technology's core Internet gambling patent, U.S. Patent Number 5,564,001 (the "001 Patent"), which was put under reexamination in Spring 2008. The Notice confirmed that all of the original claims of the ‘001 Patent were confirmed and a number of additional claims were found patentable.

1^st Technology's CEO Dr. Scott Lewis emphasized the importance of the event, stating, "We are very pleased that our core ‘001 Patent has not only passed the re-exam process but that additional claims have been found patentable making the ‘001 Patent stronger and more secure than ever."

Addressing the reexamination, Dr. Lewis added, "We welcomed the re-exam petition as an opportunity to demonstrate once and for all the novelty and innovation of the ‘001 Patent.  This confirmation permits us to again address the ongoing infringement of our intellectual property and reinvigorates our enforcement efforts."

1^st Technology has recently received a U.S. Federal Court default judgment of over $5M against Leisure & Gaming PLC in addition to a Court ordered injunction against Leisure & Gaming PLC for any future infringement of the ‘001 Patent.

The Palo Alto-based law firm of Sawyer Law Group was the primary legal representation for the ‘001 Patent re-examination process on the behalf of 1^st Technology.  Chicago-based Flachsbart & Greenspoon represents 1^st Technology in licensing and litigation.

"This all is good news for the many current 1st Tech licensees in the industry who acted sensibly in negotiating licenses with us early on, and bad news for the dozens of hold-outs who received and ignored our infringement notices over the past ten years: since the stepped up licensing enforcement will be accompanied by higher licensing fees reflecting the true value and cost of the infringement.

"Also those new players in the Internet gaming industry which have been infringing on our patent and hoping that it would be invalidated, can now expect to be receiving infringement letters from us shortly."

Lewis was successful in taking over the once powerful Bodog.com brand for a period of two years before the company finally settled.

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Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com