Preliminary injunction is denied where harm is not clearly tied to Defendants' conduct
Girafa.com, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al, Civ. No. 07-787-SLR, December 9, 2008 (Mem. Order).
Robinson, J. Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is denied.
The patent-in-suit claims priority to a provisional application dated December 6, 1999. The inventors sought to provide an improvement to user interfaces for search engine technology using thumbnail visual images of the hyperlinked web pages along with the hyperlink. The court finds that there are substantial questions concerning both infringement and validity, rejecting Plaintiff’s proposed claim construction. Plaintiff has failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits. With respect to irreparable harm, Plaintiff has failed to show that its loss of business is clearly related to defendants’ competitive conduct, noting that Plaintiff sought the injunction several years after defendants began providing the accused services.
