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ARTICLE · 24 OCTOBER 2022

NPE Showcase – Foothills IP

Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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Foothills IP is a non-practicing entity located in Texas, and owner of a single patent enforced through short term patent litigation (U.S. 6,057,862).

United StatesIntellectual Property
Patrick Muffo
Patrick Muffo
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This is the latest in the series titled "NPE Showcase," where we discuss high-volume non-practicing entities (or as some call them, "patent trolls"). This installment will focus on a company named Foothills IP.

Foothills IP is a non-practicing entity located in Texas, and owner of a single patent enforced through short term patent litigation (U.S. 6,057,862). The patent expired in 2017, providing Foothills with only a year or so to complete its patent enforcement efforts before the end of the six year statute of limitations on damages. Foothills previously owned a patent that expired in 2016 and for which damages could no longer be obtained after June of this year.

The patent is broad on its face and relates to multiple databases with associated memory switches. Foothills argues the defendants infringe by, among other things, providing question and answer services over the internet.

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