NBC (Network Backup Corp) Brings Cloud Backup Patent Suit

Leading cloud backup providers AllMyData, Carbonite, EMC (DBA Decho and Mozy), Iron Mountain, Officeware (DBA FilesAnywhere.com), Pro Softnet (DBA iBackup and iDrive) are being sued in a patent case filed Wednesday in the Eastern Texas District Court.  The plaintiff, Network Backup Corp (NBC) is alleging infringment of US Patent 5,133,065 and seeking compensatory damages.  Although little is known about NBC, the report indicates that the company acquired the intellectual property from Personal Computer Peripherals Corp subsequent to the patent’s issuance on July 21, 1992.  The claims were drafted and the application was filed on July 27, 1989.

A preliminary review reveals a broad and generic patent regarding network based backup.  The brief, 11-page claim identifies issues with prevailing backup systems such as “workstations [with] a only floppy disk drive on which a backup could be made” in the abstract.  It was not immediately apparent if the patent had previously been successfully defended.

Also named as defendants in the suit are Best Buy (presumably with respect to the Geek Squad Online Backup product) and Webroot, who offers services via a partnership with SOS Online Backup.

Reproduced from the Southeast Texas Record here.

Network Backup Corp. vs. AllMyData Inc. et al

Plaintiff Network Backup Corp. (NBC) is a Texas corporation with its principal place of business in Longview.

According to the complaint, U.S. Patent No. 5,133,065 was issued July 21, 1992, for a Backup Computer Program for Networks to Edward L. Cheffetz and Ronald C. Searls. At its issuance, the ‘065 Patent was assigned to Personal Computer Peripherals Corp. and is currently assigned to plaintiff NBC.

Network Backup Corp. is only asserting claims 6-10, the method claims, and not the system claims of the ‘065 Patent in this complaint.

The plaintiff alleges that defendants AllMyData, Best Buy, Carbonite, EMC Corp., Iron Mountain, Netmass, Officeware doing business as FilesAnywhere.com, Pro Softnet and Webroot Software are infringing one or more of the method claims of the ‘065 Patent.

The defendants infringe the method by their paid online backup subscription services.

“Each of the Defendants has committed acts of infringement which have caused damage to NBC (Network Backup Corp.),” the suit states.

The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages, interest, costs and other relief deemed just and proper.

S. Calvin Capshaw of Capshaw DeRieux LLP in Longview and attorneys from Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth PC in Tyler are representing the plaintiff. Attorneys from Vanek, Vickers & Masini PC and The Law Offices of Eugene M. Cummings PC in Chicago are of counsel.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge T. John Ward.

Case No. 2:09-cv-249-TJW