A federal appeals court handed Google a setback in a patent fight on Wednesday, tossing out part of a summary judgment in Google's favor in a lawsuit filed by Hyperphrase Technologies. Hyperphrase had filed suit in Wisconsin claiming that Google infringed on four patents used to make AutoLink and AdSense. The district court in Wisconsin tossed out the case, granting summary judgment in Google's favor. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said it partially upheld the summary judgment, partially vacated it and remanded the case.
The appeals court ruled that Google's immensely profitable AdSense did not infringe on Hyperphrase's patents. It handed down a split decision on AutoLink, agreeing that Google did not infringe, as claimed, on one of the Hyperphrase patents. But it vacated a summary judgment in Google's favor on two others and sent it back to the Wisconsin district court. The case is
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