Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 1 of 16
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ECEIPT LLC,
`
`
`
`
`
`Plaintiff
`
` v.
`
`BED BATH & BEYOND, INC.,
`
`
`
`
`Defendant
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No. 6:19-cv-00752
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Plaintiff eCeipt LLC (“Plaintiff” or “eCeipt”) hereby asserts the following claims
`
`for patent infringement against Defendant Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (“Defendant”), and
`
`alleges, on information and belief, as follows:
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`1.
`
`eCeipt is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the
`
`Texas with its principal place of business at 17330 Preston Road, Suite 200, Dallas, Texas
`
`75252.
`
`2.
`
`Defendant is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of New York
`
`with corporate address of 650 Liberty Ave, Union, NJ, 07083.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`3.
`
`This Court has original jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant
`
`to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400.
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ECEIPT LLC,
`
`
`
`
`
`Plaintiff
`
` v.
`
`BED BATH & BEYOND, INC.,
`
`
`
`
`Defendant
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Case No. 6:19-cv-00752
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`Plaintiff eCeipt LLC (“Plaintiff” or “eCeipt”) hereby asserts the following claims
`
`for patent infringement against Defendant Bed Bath & Beyond, Inc. (“Defendant”), and
`
`alleges, on information and belief, as follows:
`
`THE PARTIES
`
`1.
`
`eCeipt is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the
`
`Texas with its principal place of business at 17330 Preston Road, Suite 200, Dallas, Texas
`
`75252.
`
`2.
`
`Defendant is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of New York
`
`with corporate address of 650 Liberty Ave, Union, NJ, 07083.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`3.
`
`This Court has original jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant
`
`to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400.
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 2 of 16
`
`4.
`
`Upon information and belief, Defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction of this
`
`Court based upon it having regularly conducted business, including the acts complained
`
`of herein, within the State of Texas and this judicial district and/or deriving substantial
`
`revenue from goods and services provided to individuals in Texas and in this District.
`
`5.
`
`Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. § 1400 because Defendant has
`
`committed acts of infringement and has regular and established places of business in this
`
`judicial district.
`
`THE PATENT-IN_SUIT
`
`6.
`
`On February 4, 2014, United States Patent No. 8,643,875 (the "’875 patent"),
`
`entitled "Receipt Handling Systems, Print Drivers and Methods Thereof," was duly and
`
`lawfully issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. A true and correct copy of the
`
`’875 patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
`
`7.
`
`As explained in the ’875 patent:
`
`In a conventional case of purchasing at a store location, when a
`customer makes a purchase, a receipt is printed and handed to the
`customer after the purchasing transaction is complete. Often, customers
`may quickly throw away the receipts, creating unnecessary waste. Or,
`customers may misplace their receipts. Later, when the receipt is required,
`such as for a return, the customer can't find the receipt when it is needed.
`
`In the conventional case of purchasing online, when a customer
`makes a purchase, a receipt may be e-mailed to the customer and/or the
`customer may print a receipt on the printer associated with the customer's
`computer.
`
`In the related art, when a customer makes a purchase at a store
`location, a receipt is e-mailed to an e-mail address of the customer.
`
`There is a need for improved systems that avoids the waste
`associated with unwanted receipts, that e-mails a receipt to a customer,
`that allows a customer to obtain a printed receipt at the store location and
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 2
`
`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 3 of 16
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`that enables marketing capabilities associated with e-mailed receipts and
`any associated analytics.
`
`Ex. A at 1:15-35.
`
`8.
`
`To solve this need for improved systems, the inventors of the ’875 patent had to
`
`create a method for a point-of-sale ("POS") system to use, and the method had to be able
`
`to be implemented on various existing POS systems. Id. at 4:19-22. In other words, the
`
`inventors had to devise a receipt handling system that could be used with existing POS
`
`systems to technologically improve them to obviate their shortcomings identified above.
`
`9.
`
`The claims of the ’875 patent describe an approach to accomplishing a specific,
`
`practical, and useful improvement to the existing computer-aided processes used for
`
`"receipt handling systems, print drivers and methods thereof that substantially obviate
`
`one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art." Id.
`
`at 1:39-42. The computer-implemented methods are used to perform a distinct process to
`
`provide a person with the option of having his or her receipt printed at the store location,
`
`e-mailed or both, and then having the receipt e-mailed to him or her if that option is
`
`selected.
`
`10.
`
`The ’875 patent's claimed inventions' incorporation of providing the option to print
`
`the receipt at the store location or e-mail the receipt to the customer, and then, if the
`
`option to e-mail the receipt was selected, transmitting image data from the POS system
`
`at a store location, the image data representing a receipt corresponding to the purchasing
`
`transaction of the customer at the store location, and the transaction data to a server in
`
`communication with the POS systems at the store location, including generating a data
`
`file, the data file including the transaction data, the correct e-mail address of the
`
`customer and a file name corresponding to the image data improved the existing
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 3
`
`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 4 of 16
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`technological process by allowing the automation of further tasks, such as assigning an
`
`e-mail template based on the data file transmitted to the server and sending an e-mail to
`
`the correct customer e-mail address, wherein the content of the email is based on the
`
`assigned e-mail template, where the e-mail provides the image data obtained by the
`
`server.
`
`11.
`
`The ’875 patent's claims aid in the technological goal of giving customers the
`
`option to have receipts printed at the store or e-mailed or both and then adhering to the
`
`customers' selections. These are not claims that contain mere token references to a
`
`computer or its use; instead, these claims are explicitly tied to computers. Indeed, the
`
`claims are tangible, each covering an approach to receipt handling systems used by POS
`
`systems, which is a specific technological process.
`
`12.
`
`The claims of the ’875 patent improve the functioning of a POS system. The ’875
`
`patent is directed to computer-centric problems of POS systems not being able to provide
`
`the option to customers to have receipts printed at the store or e-mailed or both, and then
`
`follow the customers' selections. Id. at 1:15-35.
`
`13.
`
`The technology disclosed in the ’875 patent may be configured, designed, and/or
`
`operable to provide a number of different advantages and/or benefits over the prior art.
`
`As described in the specification,
`
`[T]he present invention is directed to receipt handling systems, print
`drivers and methods thereof that substantially obviate one or more of the
`problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
`
`An advantage of the present invention is to provide receipt handling
`systems, print drivers and methods capable of reducing production of waste
`paper.
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 4
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`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 5 of 16
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`Another advantage of the present invention is to provide receipt handling
`systems, print drivers and methods capable of e-mailing a receipt to a
`customer.
`
`Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide receipt
`handling systems, print drivers and methods that allow a customer to
`obtain a printed receipt at the store location.
`
`Yet another advantage of the present invention is to provide receipt
`handling systems, print drivers and methods that enable marketing
`capabilities associated with e-mailed receipts and any associated analytics.
`
`Id. at 1:39-55.
`
`14.
`
`eCeipt is the assignee and owner of the right, title and interest in and to the ’875
`
`patent, including the right to assert all causes of action arising under said patents and
`
`the right to any remedies for infringement of them.
`
`COUNT I – INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,643,875
`
`15.
`
`eCeipt repeats and realleges the allegations of paragraphs 1 through 14 as if fully
`
`set forth herein.
`
`16.
`
`Claim 1 of the ’875 Patent recites:
`
`1. A method of processing receipts, comprising:
`
`obtaining transaction data from a point-of-sale (POS) computer
`[a]
`system at a store location, the transaction data including a plurality of
`categories of information necessary to describe a purchasing transaction of
`a customer at the store location;
`
`obtaining image data from the POS system at a store location, the
`[b]
`image data representing a receipt corresponding to the purchasing
`transaction of the customer at the store location;
`
`obtaining an e-mail address of the customer from a customer
`[c]
`information database persistently associated with the POS system;
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 5
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`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 6 of 16
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`providing, to a display device at the store location, an option to print
`[d]
`the receipt at the store location and an option to e-mail the receipt to the
`customer;
`
`[e]
`
`obtaining a selection of at least one of the provided options;
`
`if the option to print is selected, initiating printing of the image data
`[f]
`at the store location; and
`
`if the option to e-mail is selected, e-mailing the receipt to the
`[g]
`customer, including:
`
`[g1] providing the e-mail address obtained from the customer
`information database to a display device at the store location;
`
`obtaining customer confirmation whether the e-mail address
`[g2]
`is correct;
`
`if the e-mail address is not correct, obtaining a corrected e-
`[g3]
`mail address of the customer;
`
`transmitting the image data and the transaction data to a
`[g4]
`server in communication with one or more POS systems at one or
`more store locations, including generating a data file, the data file
`including the transaction data, the correct e-mail address of the
`customer and a file name corresponding to the image data;
`
`[g5] assigning an e-mail template based on the data file
`transmitted to the server; and
`
`sending an e-mail to the correct customer e-mail address,
`[g6]
`wherein the content of the email is based on the assigned e-mail
`template, where the e-mail provides the image data obtained by the
`server.
`
`17. Without license or authorization and in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), Defendant
`
`has infringed and continues to infringe the ’875 patent by making, using, importing,
`
`offering for sale, and/or selling computer implemented methods for processing receipts
`
`that obtain transaction data from a point-of-sale (POS) computer system at its stores:
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 6
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 7 of 16
`
`
`
`
`As exemplified below, Defendant performs each step of Claim 1 of the ’875 Patent:
`
`18.
`
`obtaining transaction data from a point-of-sale (POS) computer
`[a]
`system at a store location, the transaction data including a plurality of
`categories of information necessary to describe a purchasing transaction of
`a customer at the store location;
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 7
`
`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 8 of 16
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`19. Defendant obtains transaction data from a POS computer system at a store
`
`location. The transaction data includes a plurality of categories of information (e.g. item
`
`description, price, store location, etc.) necessary to describe a purchasing transaction of
`
`customer at a store location.
`
`
`
`obtaining image data from the POS system at a store location, the
`[b]
`image data representing a receipt corresponding to the purchasing
`transaction of the customer at the store location;
`
`20. Defendant obtains image data (e.g. information used to create a receipt, such as a
`
`barcode) from the POS system at a store location representing a receipt corresponding to
`
`the purchasing transaction of the customer at the store locations (e.g. the image data
`
`used to create the receipts of the transaction).
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 8
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 9 of 16
`
`
`
`
`
`obtaining an e-mail address of the customer from a customer
` [c]
`information database persistently associated with the POS system;
`
`21. Defendant obtains an e-mail address from the customer information database
`
`persistently associated with the POS system. Shown below, the customer’s email address
`
`has been retrieved from a database and displayed on the POS system.
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 9
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`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 10 of 16
`
`
`
`providing, to a display device at the store location, an option to print
`[d]
`the receipt at the store location and an option to e-mail the receipt to the
`customer;
`
`22. Defendant provides an option to print the receipt at the store location and email
`
`the receipt to the customer. If a user selects “yes” the receipt is emailed to the customer.
`
`If the user selects “print only” the receipt is printed.
`
`[e]
`
`obtaining a selection of at least one of the provided options;
`
`23.
`
`The Defendant POS system is operable to obtain a selection of the provided
`
`options.
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 10
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`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 11 of 16
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`if the option to print is selected, initiating printing of the image data
`[f]
`at the store location; and
`
`24.
`
`If a user selects “print only”, the image data is printed at the store location.
`
`
`
`if the option to e-mail is selected, e-mailing the receipt to the customer,
`[g]
`including:
`
`25.
`
`If the user selects “email and print” the receipt is emailed to the customer.
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 11
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 12 of 16
`
`
`
`[g1] providing the e-mail address obtained from the customer information
`database to a display device at the store location;
`
`26.
`
`The Defendant POS system provides the customer email address to a display
`
`device at the store location.
`
`obtaining customer confirmation whether the e-mail address is
`[g2]
`correct;
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 12
`
`
`
`
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`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 13 of 16
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`27.
`
`The Defendant POS system is operable to obtain customer confirmation whether
`
`the e-mail address is correct.
`
`
`
`if the e-mail address is not correct, obtaining a corrected e-mail
`[g3]
`address of the customer;
`
`28.
`
`If the e-mail address is not correct, the Defendant POS system is operable to
`
`obtain a corrected e-mail address.
`
`
`
`transmitting the image data and the transaction data to a server in
`[g4]
`communication with one or more POS systems at one or more store locations,
`including generating a data file, the data file including the transaction data,
`the correct e-mail address of the customer and a file name corresponding to
`the image data;
`
`29. Defendant transmits the image data (e.g., data used to create a receipt image,
`
`including but not limited to a barcode) and the transaction data (e.g., categories of
`
`information necessary to describe a purchasing transaction) to a server in communication
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 13
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 14 of 16
`
`with the POS system (the receipt is emailed immediately, thus a server must be
`
`connected to the POS system).
`
`
`
`
`
`
`30. Defendant generates a data file that includes the transaction data (e.g., categories
`
`of information necessary to describe a purchasing transaction) the correct email address
`
`of the customer and a file name corresponding to the image data. (e.g., the barcode’s file
`
`name).
`
`[g5] assigning an e-mail template based on the data file transmitted to the
`server; and
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 14
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 15 of 16
`
`31.
`
`The Defendant POS system assigns an e-mail template based on the data file
`
`transmitted to the server.
`
`
`
`sending an e-mail to the correct customer e-mail address, wherein the
`[g6]
`content of the email is based on the assigned e-mail template, where the e-
`mail provides the image data obtained by the server.
`
`32. Defendant sends an email to the correct customer email address and the content
`
`of the email is based on the assigned e-mail template (e.g., HTML template shown in
`
`previous slide) and the e-mail provides the image data obtained by the server (e.g., the
`
`information used to create a receipt image).
`
`33.
`
`eCeipt is entitled to recover from Defendant the damages sustained by eCeipt as
`
`a result of Defendant's infringement of the ’875 patent in an amount subject to proof at
`
`trial, which, by law, cannot be less than a reasonable royalty, together with interest and
`
`costs as fixed by this Court under 35 U.S.C. § 284.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`WHEREFORE, Plaintiff respectfully requests the Court enter judgment against
`
`Defendant:
`
`WHEREFORE, eCeipt requests that this Court enter judgment against
`
`Defendant as follows:
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 15
`
`
`
`Case 6:20-cv-00752-ADA Document 1 Filed 08/19/20 Page 16 of 16
`
`A.
`
`B.
`
`An adjudication that Defendant has infringed the ’875 patent;
`
`An award of damages to be paid by Defendant adequate to compensate
`
`eCeipt for Defendant's past infringement of the ’875 patent and any continuing or future
`
`infringement through the date such judgment is entered, including interest, costs,
`
`expenses and an accounting of all infringing acts including, but not limited to, those acts
`
`not presented at trial;
`
`C.
`
`A declaration that this case is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285, and an
`
`award of eCeipt's reasonable attorneys' fees; and
`
`D.
`
`An award to eCeipt of such further relief at law or in equity as the Court
`
`deems just and proper.
`
`JURY DEMAND
`
`Plaintiff demands trial by jury, Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 38.
`
`
`
`Dated: August 18, 2020
`
`Respectfully Submitted
`
`
`
`/s/ Raymond W. Mort, III
`Raymond W. Mort, III
`Texas State Bar No. 00791308
`raymort@austinlaw.com
`
`THE MORT LAW FIRM, PLLC
`100 Congress Ave, Suite 2000
`Austin, Texas 78701
`Tel/Fax: (512) 865-7950
`
`ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
`
`
`
`PAGE | 16
`
`
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