Early Rule 11 Motion Denied as Premature, But Subject to Renewal

The court denied defendants' motion for Rule 11 sanctions. "Defendants complain that plaintiff has not provided 'details regarding [its] infringement analysis or underlying claim construction positions. . . .' Defendants then urge the court to conclude, prior to claim construction, that plaintiff's 'purported infringement theory includes no 'code comparison' whatsoever and no 'commands' from the user's device or 'instructions' from the ad server that command the user's device to select an advertisement.'. . . The court is not prepared to engage in a claim construction exercise, construing the claim terms . . . at this stage of the proceedings, with no context provided by discovery or a motion practice. . . . [P]laintiff may well be stretching the meaning of two older patents (clearly directed at television and radio), circa 1998-99, to fit current internet streaming video technology. . . . The court cautions plaintiff that it will entertain a renewed Rule 11 motion, if merited, after discovery and a full claim construction record."

HBAC MatchMaker Media Inc. v. CBS Interactive Inc., 1-13-cv-00428 (DED November 18, 2013, Order) (Robinson, J.)