Droplets Awarded $15 Million in Damages

MARSHALL, Texas – A federal jury in the Eastern District of Texas on Friday awarded Droplets, Inc. $15 million after finding that retail giants Sears Holding Corp. and Overstock.com Inc. infringed on its web technology patents.

The verdict was announced after a four-day trial and approximately three hours of jury deliberation. The jury ordered Sears to pay $11 million and Overstock.com to pay $4 million in damages for infringing on three Droplets patents related to how graphical user interfaces are accessed online.^[1]

The patents-in-suit were U.S. Patent Numbers 6,687,745; 7,502,838; and 8,402,115. The technology in question is used in common website features such as search-suggest functions and online shopping carts.

Following the verdict, legal representatives for both Sears and Overstock.com stated their disagreement with the outcome and their intention to appeal. Mark Griffin, general counsel for Overstock.com, stated, “We believe we do not infringe the patents, and will appeal this verdict as soon as possible”.

Court documents later indicated that Droplets and Sears agreed to a confidential settlement.