Dow Jones & Co. wins patent ruling

Dow Jones and Co. has successfully brought an end to licensing demands by Ablaise Ltd. for two of its patents.

In 2006, Ablaise threatened to sue unless Dow Jones paid for what Ablaise claimed was its exclusive, patented technology for personalizing content on Web sites. In response, Dow Jones filed suit against Ablaise in federal district court in Washington, D.C., claiming that Ablaise’s patents were invalid.

In July 2009, the district court sided with Dow Jones, ruling that because Ablaise’s “inventions” were obvious or anticipated by existing technology, both patents were invalid.

In its decision issued Monday, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirms the invalidity of one of Ablaise’s patents. As to the second, the appeals court says that the district court could not have made any determination as to that patent –- invalid or otherwise –- because Ablaise had, faced with the evidence uncovered by Dow Jones, already covenanted not to sue Dow Jones for any claims based on that patent  prior to the district court’s decision.

“This is a complete victory for Dow Jones,” said Mark H. Jackson, general counsel of Dow Jones, in a statement. “The end result is that Ablaise cannot continue to pursue Dow Jones for providing personalized content on our Web sites. Dow Jones will not be bullied into coercive licensing schemes that are based not on the novelty of the technology but the costs of litigation.”