The Aircell management reshuffle continues. Sources tell RWG that Aircell executive Tom Weigman is no longer with the company. This comes after Weigman was allegedly passed up for promotion to president and CEO, as Michael Small was hired to the post.
Separately, but meanwhile, the Ambit lawsuit against Aircell and Delta Air Lines - claiming patent infringement regarding the provision of onboard Internet - has seen some recent movement, with the following occurring on 23 March (so this is going to trial?!?)
Loislaw Federal District Court Opinions (number 8 on the list)If you've got an opinion on either situation, you can comment - even anonymously - to the comment section of this blog. What that means, specifically, is this - if you don't want to give your real name or email address you don't have to (you can be Anon at anon@anon.com if you want). If you're rather contact me directly, do so to my Yahoo address at mary_b_kirby@yahoo.com
AMBIT CORP. v. DELTA AIRLINES, INC. (Mass. 3-23-2010)
CIVIL ACTION NO. 09-10217-WGY.
March 23, 2010
On January 22, 2010, this Court denied the motion of Delta Airlines, Inc., and Aircell LLC ("Delta") for summary judgment that Patent No. 7,400,858 (the "'858 Patent") is invalid as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103 and notified the parties that it was considering granting summary judgment sua sponte on that issue for AMBIT Corp. ("Ambit"). Order Den. Mot. Summ. J., Jan. 22, 2010 [Doc. No. 135]. Subsequently, Delta filed an opposition arguing not only that its December 22, 2009, submission, which relied on a 1993 paper by A.C. Papavramidis et al. ("Papavramidis") combined with "Admitted Prior Art," was sufficient, but also discussing multiple other systems and references (Airfone system and Dennis, the original Aircell system, and the Casewell article) that allegedly render the `858 Patent obvious. Delta also filed a new voluminous expert declaration and numerous exhibits in support of its contentions. Decl. William R. Michalson, Supp. Def.'s Opp. to Sua Sponte Summ. J. [Doc. No. 147]; Decl. Stephanie P. Koh Supp. Def.'s Opp'n to Sua Sponte Summ. J. [Doc. No. 144]. This new expert declaration and the other evidence submitted after December 5, 2009, violates the discovery deadline, Case Mgmt. Order, May 4, 2009 [Doc. No. 31], and will not be considered by this Court.
(Photo above from Choking Sun's photo stream on Flickr)
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