Amazon’s AWS Owes Kove $525 Million for Patent Infringement
By Blake Brittain
An Illinois federal jury ruled that Amazon Web Services, the world’s largest cloud-service provider, must pay tech company Kove $525 million for violating its patent rights in data-storage technology.
Kove Claims Essential Technology Violation
The jury found that AWS infringed three Kove patents crucial to Amazon’s ability to store and retrieve vast amounts of data, as stated by Kove.
Amazon Disagrees with Verdict
An Amazon spokesperson stated the company’s intention to appeal the verdict, disagreeing with the jury’s decision.
Protecting Innovation and IP Rights
Kove’s lead attorney, Courtland Reichman, emphasized the significance of safeguarding intellectual property rights for startups against tech giants and praised the verdict as a win for innovation.
History of the Lawsuit
Chicago-based Kove filed the lawsuit against Amazon in 2018, alleging that it pioneered high-performance cloud storage technology before the rise of cloud computing.
Jury Rules in Favor of Kove
The jury sided with Kove, stating that AWS infringed all three patents but rejecting the claim of willful violation. Amazon had denied the allegations, arguing the patents’ invalidity.
Google Faces Similar Lawsuit
Kove also sued Google last year for infringing the same patents in a separate Illinois lawsuit that is ongoing.
AWS had denied the allegations and argued that the patents were invalid.
