Ricoh USA, Inc. (Ricoh) announced that it has recently secured a complete defense victory following over five years of patent litigation with patent assertion entity, Midwest Athletics and Sports Alliance LLC (MASA).
Ricoh said that the contentious, hard-fought litigation involved three cases across two district courts, an unsuccessful appeal by MASA, an award of attorneys’ fees to Ricoh, an “exceptional case” finding in favour of Ricoh, and ultimately a payment to Ricoh.
MASA filed a first lawsuit against Ricoh in the District of Nebraska in January 2018. MASA asserted 19 patents directed to various aspects of printer and copier technology, and its allegations targeted a wide range of Ricoh products, including both office and production printers, as well as production print software.
Ricoh was successful in having the case transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, in early 2019. After engaging in substantial discovery, Ricoh moved for summary judgment on the 14 asserted claims that remained in the case, and Ricoh prevailed on all claims. MASA filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. After full briefing and oral argument in November 2022, the appeals court affirmed the summary judgment order.
Ricoh then filed motions in the district court seeking attorneys’ fees. On 18 April 2023, the trial court found that this was an “exceptional case” that justified an award of a party’s attorneys’ fees. Shortly after the Court’s Order, MASA agreed to dismiss its last remaining case against Ricoh, and the parties entered into an agreement by which MASA paid Ricoh – the defendant in the litigation – to resolve any remaining issues.
Ricoh added that it respects the intellectual property of other companies and it will vigorously defend itself against improper claims of infringement.
