IBM Suing Expedia

In a lawsuit filed in a U.S. District Court in Delaware, IBM claims the well-known travel site Expedia has been infringing several of its patents for years. “Defendants have built their business model on the use of IBM’s patents,” according to the lawsuit. “Moreover, despite IBM’s repeated attempts to negotiate, defendants refuse to negotiate a license.” The suit was filed a day after IBM settled a similar claim against Expedia’s competitor Priceline. It claims Expedia’s infringements fall under the umbrella of how online content is delivered, including ad technology, sign on processes, and tracking previous communications with users. The suit includes Expedia’s subsidiaries HomeAway, Hotels.com, Hotwire, and Orbitz. According to the plaintiff, attempts to negotiate with Expedia date back to 2014. IBM is seeking an injunction, and royalties “on the billions of dollars in revenue that defendants have received based on their infringement of IBM’s patented technology,” according to the lawsuit.