US on-line imaging company Internet Pictures Corporation (iPIX)
has announced that it has been awarded over $1 million in damages
against rival companies Infinite Pictures and Graphic Effects,
marking what it claims is one of the first infringements of a
patent on the internet.
The decision by a federal court found that iPIX has the
exclusive rights to dynamic imaging created with a fisheye lens, in
accordance with its patent which allows users to interact within an
image, looking in 360° in any direction. Its rival companies had
incorporated this technology in their web sites and products.
"This landmark case validates our patent portfolio and the
federal court has stated loud and clear that iPIX technology is
pioneering, unique, and protected," said Jim Phillips, CEO of iPIX.
"A judicially tested and vindicated patent portfolio makes iPIX a
much stronger company and gives us a tremendous advantage in
penetrating new markets and growing our company."
The company claims that the possibility of an emerging standard
in dynamic imaging is more likely as a result of this decision and
that the case may become a landmark in the field of patent law. In
a statement, iPIX said: “This is one of the first times that a
patent infringement case has successfully been brought against a
company that used the internet to commit acts of patent
infringement.”
