Overview
International law firm McDermott Will & Emery successfully represented Trustpilot, Inc., a leading online business review platform, in securing the dismissal of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Linfo IP, LLC in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ramey LLP and David J. Hoffman (local counsel) represented Linfo in this action.
“We welcome the court’s decision to dismiss the case brought against our client, as it fully adopted the position that our team developed and argued on behalf of Trustpilot,” Kevin Meek, McDermott’s lead IP litigation partner in the case, said. “Trustpilot is a highly respected company, and we are pleased to have successfully achieved the dismissal of this meritless lawsuit brought by one of the most active patent enforcement non-practicing entities in the country today.”
Trustpilot provides a digital platform that brings businesses and consumers together to foster trust and inspire collaboration, allowing users to post reviews of businesses on its website.
On April 12, 2024, Linfo sued Trustpilot in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for alleged patent infringement of the claims of U.S. Patent No. 9,092,428 (the ‘428 patent), titled “System, methods, and user interface for discovering and presenting information in text content.” This lawsuit was part of a broader litigation campaign in which Linfo had asserted the ‘428 patent against more than 65 defendants since September 2021.
Trustpilot filed a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the ‘428 patent is directed to an abstract idea and therefore is ineligible for patent protection under 35 U.S.C. § 101. On January 3, 2025, Judge Jesse M. Furman granted Trustpilot’s motion to dismiss in its entirety, holding that the ‘428 patent’s claims are directed to an abstract idea and are therefore ineligible for patent protection. The court agreed with McDermott’s arguments that the ‘428 patent’s concept falls squarely within a well-established category of abstract ideas, namely the abstract idea of extracting and presenting information.
In reaching this decision, the court also agreed with McDermott that the ‘428 patent’s system merely automates a mental process, failing to meet the requirements for patentability. Further, the court found that the claims of the ‘428 patent lack an inventive concept. The court denied Linfo’s request for leave to amend its complaint, concluding that the deficiencies in Linfo’s claims were substantive, making further amendment futile.
Consequently, the court directed the clerk of the court to enter judgment in favor of Trustpilot consistent with its opinion, and to close the case.
The McDermott team was led by Kevin Meek and Andrew Kratenstein with support from Aashish Kapadia and Kyle Sorenson. The full case name is Linfo IP, LLC v. Trustpilot, Inc.
About McDermott
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