A US federal court has ruled AWS must pay up to $525 million in damages to technology company Kove for infringing cloud storage patents.
According to court documents, Kove alleged that two AWS products, Amazon S3 storage and the DynamoDB database service, infringed on three of Kove’s patents.
Kove originally sued Amazon over this claim in 2018, with the company claiming that it paved the way for high-level cloud storage systems long before the advent of cloud computing as it currently stands.
“As the amount of data stored in the cloud grew exponentially, there needed to be a way of storing and locating it that was more dynamic and adaptable, otherwise the system can only be so big,” Kove’s CEO, John Overton, said at the time.
Kove’s original complaint stated that the popularity of AWS cloud storage systems relied on the removal of this limitation.
The firm alleged that AWS benefited from Kove’s original innovations, allowing the hyperscaler to dominate in the cloud space by using its data storage designs as the foundations on which to build.
Jurors concluded that AWS was guilty of infringing on US patent law through the operation of its cloud services, with the court finding that three separate violations of Kove’s ownership rights had taken place.
AWS counterclaims and assertions of non-infringement, invalidity, unpatentability, and unenforceability were all “dismissed with prejudice” by the jury.
Though there was some respite for AWS in the fact that the infringements were not found to be “willful”, the company has still been hit with a sizable fine.
AWS plans to contest the ruling
The cloud computing giant, however, does not agree with the court’s decision that it violated patent rights and has told ITPro that it intends to appeal the ruling.
RELATED WHITEPAPER
“We disagree with the ruling and intend to appeal. We thank the jury, which also acknowledged that AWS did not wilfully infringe on patents,” an AWS spokesperson told ITPro.
By contrast, Kove's lead attorney Courtland Reichman called the verdict "a testament to the power of innovation and the importance of protecting IP (intellectual property) rights for start-up companies against tech giants," according to Reuters.
Kove is also seeking similar damages in a pending lawsuit against Google which began in 2023.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
The Wiz acquisition stakes Google's claim as the go-to hyperscaler for cloud security – now it’s up to AWS and industry vendors to reactAnalysis The Wiz acquisition could have monumental implications for the cloud security sector, with Google raising the stakes for competitors and industry vendors.
-
AWS expands Ohio investment by $10 billion in major AI, cloud pushNews The hyperscaler is ramping up investment in the midwestern state
-
Microsoft hit with £1 billion lawsuit over claims it’s “punishing UK businesses” for using competitor cloud servicesNews Customers using rival cloud services are paying too much for Windows Server, the complaint alleges
-
AWS re:Invent 2024 live: All the news and updates from day-three in Las VegasLive Blog ITPro is live on the ground in Las Vegas for AWS re:Invent 2024 – keep tabs on all the news and updates from day-three here
-
Westcon-Comstor bags major European distribution deal with AWSNews The company plans to launch a dedicated European AWS cloud business unit
-
AWS opens physical sites for fast data uploads – but it could cost you up to $500 an hourNews Amazon Web Service (AWS) has launched a new Data Transfer Terminal service to allow customers to upload data to the cloud from a physical site.
-
Microsoft's Azure growth isn't cause for concern, analysts sayAnalysis Azure growth has slowed slightly, but Microsoft faces bigger problems with expanding infrastructure
-
The Open Cloud Coalition wants to promote a more competitive European cloud market – but is there more to the group than meets the eye?Analysis The launch of the Open Cloud Coalition is the latest blow in a war of words between Microsoft and Google over European cloud
