M·CAM, Inc. releases Patently Obvious™ on Rolls-Royce’s U.S. Patent No. 6,071,077

Date:  Thu, 2010-11-18

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – November 18, 2010 – M·CAM, Inc. released its Patently Obvious™ report today on the patent holdings of Rolls-Royce highlighted in Rolls-Royce Plc v. United Technologies Corp., Civil Action No. 10-cv-00457. In May of 2010, Rolls-Royce fired the first salvo across the bow of Pratt & Whitney in what has become a back-and-forth contest between the two aerospace engineering giants. In the initial patent infringement suit, Rolls-Royce alleged that the design of Pratt & Whitney’s fan blades used in its GP7200 engine infringed on U.S. Patent No. 6,071,077, held by Rolls-Royce. In September, Pratt & Whitney responded not only with a denial of the allegations of infringement, but also with a countersuit stating that the ‘077 patent is invalid and unenforceable.

Rolls-Royce may face serious repercussions if the claims put forth in the countersuit by Pratt & Whitney hold up in court. Does their intellectual property hold up to close scrutiny? Using the M·CAM DOORS™ software platform, the innovation space surrounding the Rolls-Royce patent in question was examined in order to understand their strength and defensibility in the face of prior and concurrent art innovations.

M·CAM’s Patently Obvious™ is a weekly report providing visibility into potentially unconsidered alternatives, including art in the public domain, to patent holdings across a variety of technology areas.

M·CAM, Inc. is a global, full-service intellectual property and rights (IP&R) and intangible asset financial services firm. We provide the technical and financial systems that allow public and private markets to use IP&R and IA for regulated transactions in banking, securities, insurance, and public innovation investment and technology procurement. From our pioneering work in creating the world’s first standards’based innovation collateralization financial products for banking and securities to our work in grassroots innovator enablement and patent quality assurance programs, M·CAM provides the mechanism to balance the interests of public and commercial sectors to support and build thriving economies.

The M·CAM Patently Obvious™ report on NuVasive, Inc. can be found HERE