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Platform Science Inc. has urged a California federal judge to overturn a $19.3 million jury verdict that found the company liable for willfully infringing a fleet management software patent owned by Qualcomm spinoff Omnitracs LLC. The company claims the verdict is improper and has filed motions seeking either a judgment as a matter of law or a new trial.

Platform Science's Argument Against the Verdict

In motions filed Wednesday, Platform Science argued that the July verdict, which concluded that the company infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,925,308, is fundamentally flawed. The patent, held by Omnitracs and its subsidiary XRS Corp., covers logistics software related to fleet management. Platform Science contends that its Workflow system, which the jury found to infringe Omnitracs’ patent, does not use the "pre-defined formatted messages" claimed in the patent.

According to Platform Science, these messages—known as macros—are data-filled instructions that their system does not copy, contrary to what the jury found. Instead, Platform Science asserts that information is entered manually by truck drivers or sourced from other system components. The company argues that this discrepancy makes the infringement theory akin to "a square peg in a round hole."

Platform Science $19.3M Verdict : Excessive Damages and Legal Errors

Platform Science also took issue with the $19.3 million award, claiming it was excessively high and included damages for a period after the '308 patent expired in 2022. The company argued that damages for future speculative losses were unlawful, citing violations of legal precedents.

In its motion for a new trial, Platform Science emphasized that much of the evidence presented by Omnitracs was "legally irrelevant and highly prejudicial." It also challenged the jury instructions regarding "willful blindness"—the notion that the company purposefully avoided acknowledging its alleged infringement—arguing these instructions were improper.

Platform Science $19.3M Verdict : Focus on the '308 Patent

Platform Science's motions specifically target the verdict related to the '308 patent and do not dispute the jury’s finding that the company did not infringe two other patents owned by Omnitracs: U.S. Patent Nos. 9,262,934 and 10,255,575.

Legal Representation

Omnitracs and XRS are represented by a team from Kirkland & Ellis LLP, while Platform Science is represented by attorneys from Fish & Richardson PC and King & Spalding LLP. Neither party has commented on the motions.