A federal jury in the US has found that Bank of America (BofA) and the financial and payments solution provider S1 Corporation are not infringing a patent in their banking and payments software.

The suit over BofA's use of S1's electronic purchase-order processing system was brought by New York-based TradeCard, which has consistently marketed itself as a viable alternative to letters of credit (L/Cs).

Dispute

The software at the centre of the dispute is an electronic tool for processing L/C and open account transactions.

The second largest US bank says the trial addressed two main issues: the validity of a patent held by TradeCard and whether BofA's use of the S1 Corp system infringed that patent.

Findings

The jury in federal court in the Southern District of New York found there was no patent infringement and that TradeCard's patent was invalid anyway. TradeCard had sought more than US$10 million of damages and an injunction to stop the sale or use of the processing system.

TradeCard sued for patent-infringement damages in excess of US$10 million and sought an injunction forcing BofA and S1 to stop using or selling the system.

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