Paul Allen Has Monster Lawsuit Dismissed

Back in August, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen filed a suit against a fistful of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, and Yahoo.

Back in August, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen filed a suit against a fistful of the biggest names in the tech industry, including Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, Netflix, and Yahoo.

Allen accused the tech giants of infringing upon patents owned by a company he had founded in 1992. Dissolved in the year 2000, Interval Research focused on the Internet and consumer technology applications. Allen's suit accused 11 companies of infringing upon Interval Research-owned patents that covered internet searching and e-commerce.

A month or so after the August filing of Allen's lawsuit, Google and several others listed in the lawsuit asked that it be dismissed on the grounds that it was not detailed enough.

"Interval is not entitled to waste Court and party resources with a scattershot Complaint against multiple Defendants that fails to give any indication as to which products or services Interval contends are infringing and the factual basis for such a claim," Google is quoted as saying in its request.

Last Friday judge Marsha Pechman concurred and dismissed Allen's complaint. Undeterred, a spokesperson for the Microsoft co-founder described the dismissal as a "procedural issue" and told the Wall Street Journal, "The case is staying on track."