Smartmatic, a leading voting technology firm, successfully defended itself against a patent infringement lawsuit filed by rival Election Systems & Software (ES&S), following a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday. The court upheld a Delaware federal judge’s decision to dismiss the case, confirming Smartmatic’s victory in the ongoing legal battle.
The appeal originated from a lawsuit filed by Omaha-based ES&S in 2018, accusing Smartmatic of infringing on two patents related to voter-assistance terminals and ballot-marking devices designed for physically disabled voters. The Delaware district court, led by U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews, had previously ruled that the last remaining patent in the case was invalid. In his ruling, Judge Andrews explained that the patent in question revolved around the abstract concept of “giving voters a choice of returning or depositing their ballot,” which did not meet the necessary criteria for patentability.
ES&S had dropped one of the patents from the lawsuit in 2022, but continued to argue that Smartmatic’s technology was in violation of the other patent. The Federal Circuit, however, upheld the lower court’s decision without issuing further comments following oral arguments held last week.
Spokespeople and legal representatives from both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comments following the ruling.
This legal victory is significant for Smartmatic, which is also pursuing its own $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News. The suit claims that the network broadcasted false accusations regarding Smartmatic’s involvement in the rigging of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which were debunked by multiple sources. Smartmatic reached settlements earlier this year with Newsmax and One America News over similar claims.
The patent lawsuit in question is titled Election Systems & Software LLC v. Smartmatic USA Corp and was heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 23-1949.
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