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Law360, New York (September 25, 2009) -- A federal jury has awarded the Western Union Co. more than $16 million in damages, finding that rival MoneyGram Payment Systems Inc. infringed four patents related to electronic money transfers.
In a verdict reached Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, the jury found that MoneyGram infringed — either literally or through the doctrine of equivalents — patents describing methods for performing financial transactions over the phone.
The jury did not, however, find the infringement willful, as Western Union had argued.
The jury awarded Western Union $16.53 million in royalties.
Financial services providers Western Union and MoneyGram each work with customers to conduct monetary transfers through a call center, and complete the transactions at an agent location.
Western Union sued MoneyGram in 2007 after investigating the company and determining that it “was essentially replicating Western Union's patented Money Transfer by Phone service,” the plaintiff said Friday in a statement.
The company sought treble damages; royalties with pre- and post-judgment interest; attorneys' fees; and a permanent injunction barring infringement of the patents, issued between 2002 and 2006, Western Union said in its second amended complaint, filed in May 2008.
MoneyGram fired back counterclaims calling Western Union's patent invalid for obviousness and lack of written disclosure.
The defendant also said the patents were unenforceable for, among other things, estoppel and fraud. MoneyGram sought declaratory judgment of noninfringement, contending that Western Union had failed to state a claim.
But the jury found none of the patents anticipated by prior art, and determined that Western Union had not withheld any information from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the application process.
Attorneys for both parties, in transit Friday following the trial, were unavailable to comment on the matter.
A spokesperson for Western Union did not return calls Friday, and a representatives for MoneyGram could not be reached for comment.
The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Numbers 6,488,203 B1; 6,502,747 B1; 6,761,309 B2; and 7,070,094 B2.
Attorneys from Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP and Clark Thomas & Winters PC represent Western Union.
MoneyGram is represented by Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP and Germer & Gertz LLP.
The case is The Western Union Co. v. MoneyGram International Inc., case number 07-cv-00372-SS, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.
