ROBERT JACOBSEN, Plaintiff, v. MATTHEW KATZER and KAMIND ASSOCIATES, INC., Defendants., 609 F. Supp. 2d 925

Summary

Defendants developed software for model railroad enthusiasts. Plaintiff was a professor of physics and a model train hobbyist and a member of an online, open source community that developed model train software. The court found because the patent at issue was voluntarily disclaimed plaintiff was not a prevailing party. Therefore, attorneys' fees under 35 U.S.C.S. § 285 could not become available and did not form an independent basis for jurisdiction over the now-disclaimed patent. The breach of contract claim failed because there was no indication what, if any, damages plaintiff claimed to have incurred. The breach of contract claim was preempted under 17 U.S.C.S. § 301. The DMCA claim was sufficient because there had been some technological process engaged to protect the author's name, a title, a reference to the license and where to find the license, a copyright notice, and the copyright owner of plaintiff's work. The motion to strike was premature. Request for a preliminary ...