Internet bookseller Amazon.com has paid out $40m (£22m) to
e-commerce firm Soverain Software to settle a lawsuit over patent
infringement.
Soverain filed the infringement lawsuit in January 2004 in a
Texas court, alleging that Amazon’s website technology infringed
several of Soverain’s patents covering internet server access
control and monitoring systems and network sales systems.
Amazon announced it had made a settlement with Soverain in
papers filed with US business regulator the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
The terms of the settlement include a one-off payment of $40m,
dismissal of all claims and counterclaims, mutual releases, and a
non-exclusive licence to Soverain’s patent portfolio.
The payout comes a month after Amazon posted quarterly results
showing profits falling 32% compared with the previous year. The
company made $52m £28.7m) in the three months to June, down from
$76m (£42m) in the same period last year. The drop in profits came
despite a 26% increase in sales to $1.75bn (£96m).
