PB & J Software, LLC v. Acronis, Inc.

897 F. Supp. 2d 815, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1075, 2012 WL 4372523, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136869
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedSeptember 25, 2012
DocketCase No. 4:12-CV-690 SNLJ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 897 F. Supp. 2d 815 (PB & J Software, LLC v. Acronis, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
PB & J Software, LLC v. Acronis, Inc., 897 F. Supp. 2d 815, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1075, 2012 WL 4372523, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136869 (E.D. Mo. 2012).

Opinion

[817]*817 MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR., District Judge.

Plaintiff PB & J Software, LLC brought this patent infringement suit against defendant Acronis, Inc. Defendant moved to dismiss or for a more definite statement and to transfer to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (# 11). This matter has been fully briefed and is now ripe for adjudication.

I. Background

According to the complaint, plaintiff is the assignee of and owns all the right, title, and interest in and has standing to sue for infringement of United State Patent 7,356,535 (the “'535 Patent” or “Patent”). Plaintiff asserts that the defendant is infringing, inducing others to infringe, and/or contributorily infringing at least one claim of the '535 Patent. Such infringing activities by defendant allegedly include, but are not limited to, making, using, importing, selling and/or offering products and services. The infringing activities allegedly include, but are not limited to, offering services and licensing software implementing what defendant identifies as an initial “seed” backup.

Plaintiff claims that the defendant’s actions constitute infringement of at least once claim of the Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. §§ 271, 281-85. In addition, plaintiff claims willful infringement because it claims defendant has infringed the Patent with knowledge of the Patent. Plaintiff states that the defendant has derived substantial revenue from its infringement and that defendant is causing irreparable harm and monetary damage to plaintiff. ■ Plaintiff seeks an injunction and damages.

Defendant moved to dismiss or for a more definite statement, and to transfer this action to the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

II. Motion to Dismiss or for More Definite Statement

Plaintiffs short complaint purports to allege claims for direct patent infringement, contributory patent infringement, induced infringement, and willful infringement. Defendant contends that each claim should be dismissed or that the Court should require plaintiff to file a more specific pleading. The Court addresses each argument in turn.

A. Legal Standard

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). A complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion must be dismissed for failure to state a claim if it does not plead enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 560, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (abrogating the traditional “no set of facts” standard set forth in Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)). A petitioner need not provide specific facts to support his allegations, Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam), but “must include sufficient factual information to provide the grounds on which the claim rests, and to raise a right to relief above a speculative level.” Schaaf v. Residential Funding Corp., 517 F.3d 544, 549 (8th Cir.2008), cert. denied, 555 U.S. 882, 129 S.Ct. 222, 172 L.Ed.2d 142 (2008) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555-56 & n. 3, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

Although recent Supreme Court precedent has refined the plausibility requirement, e.g., Matrixx Initiatives, Inc. v. Si[818]*818mcusano, —U.S.-, 131 S.Ct. 1309, 1323, 179 L.Ed.2d 398 (2011); Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, none of those cases addresses the sufficiency of a complaint for which there is, as here, a sample complaint in the Appendix of Forms to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See In re Bill of Lading Transmission and Processing System Patent Litigation, 681 F.3d 1323, 1333-34 (Fed.Cir.2012). Form 18 sets forth a model complaint for patent infringement, and it requires

(1) an allegation of jurisdiction; (2) a statement that the plaintiff owns the patent; (3) a statement that defendant has been infringing the patent ‘by making, selling, and using [the device] embodying the patent’; (4) a statement that the plaintiff has given the defendant notice of its infringement; and (5) a demand for an injunction and damages.

Id. at 1334 (quoting McZeal v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 501 F.3d 1354, 1357 (Fed.Cir.2007)).

The model complaint set forth in Form 18 is relevant because Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 84 states that “the forms in the Appendix suffice under these rules and illustrate the simplicity and brevity that these rules contemplate.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 84; see also Bill of Lading, 681 F.3d at 1334. Further, the Advisory Committee Notes state that “[t]he amendment serves to emphasize that the forms contained in the Appendix of Forms are sufficient to withstand attack under the rules under which they are drawn, and that the practitioner using them may rely on them to that extent.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 84. advisory committee’s note. The language of Rule 84 and the Advisory Committee Notes make “clear that a pleading, motion, or other paper that follows one of the Official Forms cannot be successfully attacked.” 12 Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Richard L. Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure § 3162 (2d ed. 1997), quoted in Bill of Lading, 681 F.3d at 1334. “As the Supreme Court has noted, moreover, any changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ‘must be obtained by the process of amending the Federal Rules, and not by judicial interpretation.’ ” Bill of Lading, 681 F.3d at 1334 (quoting Leatherman v. Tarrant Cnty. Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 507 U.S. 163, 168, 113 S.Ct. 1160, 122 L.Ed.2d 517 (1993)). Accordingly, in the event of a conflict between Twombly and the Forms, the Forms control. Bill of Lading, 681 F.3d at 1334.

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Bluebook (online)
897 F. Supp. 2d 815, 83 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1075, 2012 WL 4372523, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136869, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pb-j-software-llc-v-acronis-inc-moed-2012.