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By Michael Lindenberger of The Dallas Morning News
WASHINGTON (May 7)– Diane Lettelier, senior managing counsel for the Plano-based J.C. Penney, told Senators Thursday that the retailer is so frequently targeted by unfounded patent lawsuits and threatening demand letters concerning its use of technology that it now shies away from using technology marketed by small tech firms.
Lettelier told the Senate’s Judiciary Committee that patent holding companies routinely sue companies that use technology they claim infringes on patent holders’ rights are increasingly targeting main street companies, rather than the tech firms themselves.
“J.C. Penney has been ravaged by abusive patent lawsuits,” Lettelier testified. “This dynamic has caused a shift in how J.C. Penney and many other Main Street businesses approach the adoption of innovation. It has not been driven by any concern that the technology violates anyone’s patent rights. It’s driven by the high costs of patent defense.”
Lettelier said the retailer has been sued 30 times in six years by firms seeking to wring settlements out of Penney for using technology developed by others. She said such entities have also sent “countless” demand letters containing vague and, she says, unjustified claims that technology Penney uses violates other parties’ patents.
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