Transcend Shipping Services has settled a second patent infringement lawsuit in its string of litigation against liner operators.
Following AP Moller-Maersk's settlement in January, Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL) came to an agreement with Transcend in a legal dispute alleging its container tracking system infringed on patents held by the Florida-registered company.
Attorneys for Transcend with Houston's Garteiser Honea did not immediately return a request for comment from TradeWinds, nor did OOCL.
A notice that the two sides had reached an agreement in principle was filed in August, and US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap issued an order dismissing the case at Transcend's behalf on Tuesday.
China's OOCL and Denmark's Maersk were two of six major containership operators targeted by Transcend, which alleged in a series of lawsuits in the US federal court for the Eastern District of Texas that the liners' container tracking systems infringed on five patents it owned.
The company alleged the systems employed by OOCL, Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), Zim and CMA CGM all used global positioning and memory devices to allow customers to see where their cargoes are and the conditions inside as well as sending alerts.
Transcend said it owns five patents describing that exact system.
Hapag-Lloyd, MSC, Zim and CMA CGM all appear to be fighting Transcend's claims.
In all six lawsuits, Transcend seeks treble damages.
Transcend is backed by Yonkers, New York, businessman and attorney Raymond Joao, once described as a "patent troll" during a 15-year period in which he sued banks, credit card companies, brokerages and financial software providers over infringement on a separate set of patents.
Then, he said his Joao Bock Transaction Systems company had patents on systems allowing customers to monitor and deny transactions through a computer.
Some defendants opted to settle, while some disputes ended with judges invalidating the patents.
In 2013, Online Resources Corp described him as a "patent troll" after he sued them despite coming to a settlement with a subsidiary precluding further legal action.
Patent trolls, more formally known as non-practicing entities, threaten litigation over patents that they hold but do not use to make a product.
