Prolific Texas Attorney Owes Google Fees for ‘Frivolous’ Case

A Texas attorney and his client must pay Google LLC $250,000 in attorney’s fees after the Federal Circuit upheld findings that they filed a frivolous patent lawsuit without an adequate investigation over YouTube’s music and audio features.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed Tuesday a California federal judge’s ruling that EscapeX IP LLC failed to properly investigate claims concerning US Patent No. 9,009,113 before suing the tech giant. The appeals court found the lower court correctly determined that “EscapeX did not conduct an adequate pre-suit investigation, but instead filed frivolous claims.”

Bill Ramey of Ramey LLP, ...