Business media outlets accused of patent infringement

Bloomberg LP and Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, and five other media outlets were sued for allegedly infringing two patents for “instantaneous symbol lookup,” used on websites.

A Bloomberg News story states, “Boadin Technology LLC, which said it owns the rights to the patents, filed the lawsuit yesterday in federal court in Wilmington, Delaware. Boadin, whose office is in Newark, Delaware, is seeking a finding of infringement and unspecified compensatory damages, according to the complaint.

“The news providers infringed Boadin’s patents by selling ‘certain computer products that embody’ the covered technology, according to the complaint, which said the companies used the technology on their websites.

“Other defendants include News Corp. units Fox News Network and Marketwatch Inc., Gannett Co. and Comcast Corp.’s CNBC TV network. Defendant Bloomberg LP is the parent company of Bloomberg News.

“Ty Trippet, a Bloomberg spokesman, and Danielle Rhoades Ha, a New York Times spokeswoman, declined to comment on the suit. Charles Douglas, a Comcast spokesman, didn’t immediately comment. Jack Horner, a News Corp. spokesman, and Robin Pence, a spokeswoman for the Gannett newspaper chain, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.”