The Killen & Associates Alert
February 2007
In This Issue:
- DataTreasury lawsuit against Citibank, BofA, First Data, sixty other banks, and IT suppliers creates great risks for all parties.
- New study underway that may help defendants or plaintiffs, who are party to DataTreasury lawsuit, to win.
- Microsoft and Sun Microsystems form alliance.
- Ten thousand viewers watch Michael Killen’s interviews on Google Video. See which videos are getting the greatest exposure.
- Additional videos will be released in February.
1. DataTreasury lawsuit against Citibank, BofA, First Data, sixty other banks, and IT suppliers creates great risks for all parties.
When JP Morgan, NCR, and other companies settled the patent infringement lawsuits filed against them by DataTreasury, it became clear to the banking and IT industries that DataTreasury’s legal strategy was a serious threat. DataTreasury holds patent(s) for an important payment process--check image processing. The company has filed lawsuits against sixty or so banks and IT companies that include Bank of America, Citibank, First Data Corporation, Small Value Payments Company (SVPCO), The Clearing House Payments Company, Electronic Data Systems Corp, and Viewpointe Archive Services. (see Appendix: List of DataTreasury Lawsuit Defendants.)
The banks are at risk for treble damages, royalty payments, and disruption to their check payment operation. The check clearing, storage and retrieval networks, equipment and software, credit card processing services, and suppliers face the same risks.
Winners and Losers Will Be Determined By Prior Art
Michael Killen. President of Killen & Associates says, “I believe, that prior art could determine the winners and losers.” However, no one knows what methods and processes, from the past will be discovered that might weaken, or for that matter, strengthen DataTreasury’s argument in front of a jury. Because of the importance of prior art in this case, and because we have a broad and deep view of pre-DataTreasury patent(s) image processing developments, we are publishing a study on what we knew about those developments when they occurred.
2. New study underway that may help defendants or plaintiffs, who are party to DataTreasury lawsuit, to win.
Study # 755 “Pre-DataTreasury Image Processing Developments Circa 1985-1993: What we knew when it happened that may be relevant to litigants today.”
The study is based on our first hand knowledge, and provides a view of pre-DataTreasury patent(s) image processing developments that may be helpful to all litigants and their legal council. Our focus is on developments during the years 1985 through 1993. This is a period when several important suppliers offered products that have many of the characteristics stated in DataTreasury’s patent. It’s about the products, people, systems, customers, suppliers, and concepts that we worked with in the second half of 80’s and early 90’s. The products enabled banks and other organizations to convert paper documents to images, to store, and to retrieve those images. Some products were part of, or used, a multi-tier network.
The study includes the following:
List of names of people who helped create the pre-DataTreasury patent image-processing environment and whom Michael Killen interviewed and discussed image-processing developments. All of these people may be able to provide additional views of the Pre-DataTreasury developments.
A view of the image processing market before the US patent office heard of DataTreasury. This includes our description of the market including the number of systems installed. This information will enable lawyers to argue how developed or underdeveloped the market was at this critical time. It gives everyone insights into how much additional potential prior art may exist.
Description of the functionality of the systems during this period. This section will assure lawyers that we are focusing on a period that produced developments that may be relevant to DataTreasury’s patents and the lawsuit.
Description of the methods and practices of the time. This will help purchasers of this study to understand how these systems were being used and to compare these methods and practices of a later date.
Leads on systems that were installed or were being installed. This list may help researchers track down additional potential prior art.
Definitions of relevant image processing terms circa 1985 to 1993. This will help researchers, experts, and lawyers think clearly about an earlier time.
Scenario of the steps a supplier started to take in the 70s and continued until that supplier challenged IBM for leadership of the image processing market by the beginning of 1990s. This information will further help lawyers and litigant fill in blanks in their knowledge.
What the Study Is Not
We present information about the past, as we knew it then, that we believe is relevant to the lawsuit. We do not give opinions of those developments with respect to the validity of the DataTreasury’s patents, or any other party’s arguments. We do not provide forecasts of the damage defendants may have caused DataTreasury, or the growth of check image processing. Nor do we provide detailed comparisons of systems described in DataTreasury’s patents.
Methodology
The study will be based on Michael Killen’s knowledge of pre-DataTreasury image processing developments. Michael has first hand experience that may be relevant to the DataTreasury lawsuits. He will review his four books--and any notes that may have survived from the period, to help him recall relevant developments.
The study will be approximately 35 pages. Interested parties should call Jo Brown at 650-327-2312 for additional information.
Michael Killen’s first hand experience that is relevant to this study
Michael Killen wrote four books that either focused directly on pre-DataTreasury patent image-processing developments or help to provide a context for those developments. He published a study on image processing developments that many banks and IT suppliers purchased. That study focused on IBM’s Image Processing Strategy. He also produced a series of half-hour TV programs on image processing developments. These related productions provided Michael with an extensive view of developments that may be relevant to the lawsuit.
Books by Michael Killen
“SAA: Image Processing” (1991) McGraw- Hill, Inc.
“SAA: Image Processing” helps IT professionals, business persons and educators understand document image capture and image processing storage systems, and especially how they fit within IBM’s larger strategy of Systems Application Architecture (SAA). It contains a description of an early remote capture credit card system. The book is based on a study Killen & Associates published at the end of the 1980s, as well as other research. The book helps to establish that this period is an important time to search for prior art.
“SAA: Managing Distributed Data,” McGraw-Hill, 1991
“SAA: Managing Distributed Data,” helps IT professional understand the importance of databases proliferating around their companies, and how IBM was and was not addressing these developments.
“SAA and Unix,” McGraw-Hill, 1992
“SAA and Unix,” shows how IBM hoped to accommodate UNIX as part of IBM’s grand SAA strategy.
“IBM: The Making of the CommonView,” Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988
“IBM: The Making of the CommonView,” enables IT professionals and business managers to see the behind the scene story of how IBM developed its SAA strategy, and to deepen their understanding of that strategy. The book made bestseller lists. A publisher in Japan republished it for the Japanese market. It opened the way for Michael’s career as a TV interview host that continues today.
TV Interview Series
In 1989, Michael produced a series of half-hour interviews with executives from the leading image processing suppliers, and with image processing consultants. He asks them questions about image processing developments, including customers, applications, systems capabilities, market share, and their plans. Cable TV stations “aired” these programs in over thirty markets.
Additional Information on Michael Killen
In the years since 1993, Michael has continued to help banks, software, and IT services companies develop business strategies. His company has published many studies. A few of those studies are referenced on Killen & Associates home page. Michael Killen has given many speeches around the world on banking and IT developments. He wrote an article “US Banking Industry Takes Another Step Towards Removing Paper Checks from Banking System,” that appeared in his company’s newsletter, The Killen & Associates Alert, September 2004.
Michael frequently interviews interesting guests from various walks of life. You see some of these interviews at
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Michael+Killen
3. Microsoft and Sun Microsystems form alliance
Two years ago, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems settled their lawsuits, which included a patent infringement lawsuit and an anti-trust lawsuit. The settlement stipulated that both companies cooperate in sharing information about developing technologies.
Everyone expected that both companies would cooperate minimally. Michael Killen’s interview with Ben Lenail, Director of Corporate Development, Microsoft Relationship Manager, Sun Microsystems, Inc., reveals that the unexpected has happened. The two companies are now working together to build products that provide identify management, systems management, storage, and interoperability. It includes products based on .NET, Java, and ODF and products that enable organizations to create service-oriented architecture (SOA) applications and infrastructure. This has a positive impact on the customers. It creates new challenges for competitors such as BEA Systems, IBM, Oracle, Tibco, and SAP.
The interview is available at
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=Michael+Killen
4. Ten thousand viewers watch Michael Killen’s interviews on Google Video. See which videos are getting the greatest exposure.
In the last few months, ten thousand viewers around the world have clicked on the video interviews that are available at Google Video. The top four videos are
5. Additional videos will be released in February
In February, we will release a video to Goggle Video on “Innovation and the News,” that features David Nordfors, the founder of Stanford University’s Innovation and Journalism Program, Ron Wolf, CEO of the public interest newswire, Acribe.org, and high-tech innovator and author of Doublethink, Judith Swartz. We explore the media’s ability to report on innovation and other challenges the media face. Also, we will release the first of a series of interviews on “Remembering New Orleans In Art”.
In March we will release an interview on the opportunity for computer, chip and communications suppliers to help Africans enter the information age. We explore the different approaches being proposed by Intel and other suppliers.
Michael Killen’s interviews address varied topics on art, climate change, filmmaking, information technology, screen writing, telecommunications, and political issues. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
To add your address to our e-mail list to receive Killen & Associates announcements, please email: Jo Brown.
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To add your address to our e-mail list to receive Killen & Associates announcements, please email mailto:jo.brown@killen.com.
Killen & Associates
Killen & Associates applies art, business, and science to help corporations and banks solve difficult marketing and business challenges. The firm is known for its market and industry studies, white papers, webcasts and TV interview productions.
1212 Parkinson Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94301
1-650-327-2312
Appendix: List of DataTreasury Lawsuit Defendants
The list of defendants in the DataTreasury lawsuits includes: Bank of America, Citibank, First Data Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company; Wells Fargo Bank, National Association; Bank of America Corporation; Bank of America, National Association; U.S. Bancorp; U.S. Bank, National Association; Wachovia Corporation; Wachovia Bank, National Association; SunTrust Banks, Inc.; SunTrust Bank; BB&T Corporation; Branch Banking and Trust Company; BancorpSouth, Inc.; BancorpSouth Bank; Compass Bancshares, Inc.; Compass Bank; Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc.; The Frost National Bank; First Horizon National Corporation; First Tennessee Bank, National Association; Harris Bankcorp, Inc.; Harris N.A.; HSBC Bank USA, N.A. National City Corporation; National City Bank; Zions Bancorporation; Zions First National Bank; Bank of New York Co., Inc.; The Bank of New York; UnionBanCal Corporation; Union Bank of California, National Association; Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.; Citizens Financial Group, Inc. City National Corporation; City National Bank; Comerica Incorporated; Comerica Bank & Trust, National association; Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas; First Citizens Bancshares, Inc.; First Citizens Bank & Trust Company; KeyCorp; KeyBank National Association; LaSalle Bank Corporation; LaSalle Bank NA; M&T Bank Corporation; M&T Bank; The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.; PNC Bank, National association UBS Americas, Inc.; Small Value Payments Company, LLC; The Clearing House Payments Company, LLC; MagTek, Inc; First Data Corporation; TeleCheck Services, Inc., Remitco, LLC Electronic Data Systems Corp. and Viewpointe Archive Services.
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