HAVEL & PARTNERS, attorneys-at-law, has provided comprehensive legal advice to assist in the settlement of a dispute in the US sparked by an action regarding alleged infringement of patent law concerning a product of the Brno-based company ZONER software. ZONER software was sued by a company that does not practically use its patented technology in any way, does not create real business value, and only misuses its patents to claim fees for alleged infringements.

HAVEL & PARTNERS represented the Brno-based company in the US in cooperation with its partner agency Greenberg Traurig. ZONER Software is a major producer and distributor of software, as well as the leading provider of Internet services related to online presentations and e-commerce. It is seated in Brno and together with its branches in Slovakia, Hungary, Japan and the US, it has over 100 employees. The company’s Zoner Photo Studio is currently the most widely used photo editing programme in the Czech Republic, used by over 10 million users worldwide, and is one of the ten most successful photo editing programmes.

In the US, ZONER Software was sued by a company that purchases patents and patent applications (e.g. from start-ups or insolvent companies) and then sends letters before action to companies that could potentially be infringing the patent.

Professional legal assistance to ZONER software in the litigation was provided by a specialised IP law team led by Ivan Rámeš, a partner, together with Tomáš Havelka, a senior associate, and Vojtěch Zavadil, a junior associate. In addition to assessing the grounds for the action and considering whether the client may be infringing the other party’s patent, the law firm also conducted subsequent out-of-court proceedings, which ultimately put an end to the litigation by a settlement agreement.

With its pro-active and professional approach to this intellectual property dispute, HAVEL & PARTNERS significantly contributed to the fact that the counterparty agreed with out-of-court negotiations and, as part of the settlement agreement, also accepted the terms and conditions requested by HAVEL & PARTNERS’ client, which were fundamentally different from those ZONER software was facing at the beginning of the dispute.