IBM and Groupon Trade Final Blows as Patent Case Goes to Jury
- Up to $167 million in damages at stake, if infringement found
- Roots of e-commerce at issue; test of IBM’s licensing prowess
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Groupon Inc. is trying to portray International Business Machines Corp. as claiming to have patented the Internet, but that’s “a smoke screen,” IBM’s lawyer told jurors as a two-week court fight over four patents related to e-commerce neared completion.
A lawyer for Groupon, meanwhile, had a word of his own to describe IBM’s approach -- "extortion."