A few months ago, a federal judge in the District of Delaware ruled in favor of a motion by DraftKings to recommend canceling a patent related to the cash-out feature that had been registered by UK-based company Diogenes Ltd. and licensed to Colossus Bets.
The claim was one of several patent-related claims brought by the UK company against Boston-based DraftKings but was the only claim that DraftKings was able to successfully argue against, at least for the time being.
The written report and recommendations followed a July 8 hearing which laid out the findings orally. While this is a substantial win for DraftKings and the rest of the industry seeking to use the cash-out feature, the report and recommendation are subject to appeal, which could delay the final resolution of the matter.
What was DraftKings lawsuit about?
DraftKings was sued back in December 2021 by Diogenes Ltd, who had licensed the”cash-out” feature to Colossus Bets. In its complaint in December, Colossus and Diogenes estimated that damages could exceed $1 billion. Potentially raising the stakes higher is that willful patent infringement raises the possibility of trebling damages.