Expedia is being sued by IBM over patent infringement

Computer hardware developer, IBM, has filed to sue travel tech giant, Expedia, saying that the travel agency is infringing on up to three of its patents.

The complaint, which was recently filed at the US District Court for the District of Arizona, claimed that a number of Expedia-owned websites infringe three of its patents (US numbers RE41,440; 6,778,193; and 7,543,234).

The patents relate to technology that improves graphical user interfaces for customer self-service search systems and customizable portal pages.

IBM said generating a portal page wherein the page includes a plurality of portlets—such as the search results page on www.expedia.com—constitutes infringement of its patents.

In its filing, IBM said Expedia has “built its business model” on the use of IBM’s patents.

IBM said it had been forced to seek relief through litigation because its “multi-year struggle to negotiate a licence agreement that remedies Expedia’s conduct has failed”.

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