Bare Allegations Of Customer Indemnification Not Enough For CBM Standing

Acxiom Corp. v. Phoenix Licensing, LLC

In a decision denying institution on a covered business method (CBM) review petition, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) declined to institute a proceeding, finding that the petitioner lacked of standing. The Board concluded that merely having a customer-supplier relationship and an indemnity agreement with an accused infringer did not confer standing on a supplier sufficient to pursue a CBM review on behalf of its customer. Acxiom Corp. v. Phoenix Licensing, LLC, CBM2015-00134 (Nov. 19, 2015) (S. G. White, APJ).

The case began when Phoenix Licensing sued two of Acxiom's clients, Gerber Life Insurance and AAA Life Insurance, for patent infringement related to services purchased from Acxiom. Gerber then sought indemnification from Acxiom. Acxiom and its clients brought CBM petitions against seven of Phoenix's patents. After Acxiom's clients settled, leaving it alone on the CBM petitions, Phoenix called Acxiom's