IBM vs. Zillow: Patent Infringement Allegations Continue

Zillow’s caught in another legal battle with IBM who has recently filed a second lawsuit accusing the real estate giant of infringing on patents used to develop its search engine.

The claim states that IBM has a number of cross-licenses with similar companies allowing them to utilize the patents. These companies include Amazon, Apple, Google, and Facebook.

“Unfortunately, Zillow is not among them. Instead, Zillow has chosen to willfully infringe the five patents in this lawsuit without even considering licensing discussions.”

IBM is claiming that Zillow has infringed on five patents used to improve searches by ranking results, simplifying content design, and more. IBM has brought the issues up with Zillow who has yet to cease using the technology. 

This isn’t the first time Zillow has been in a legal struggle with IBM and it’s not the first time the listing giant has been accused of taking patents without consent. In April, it was under fire while defending its Trulia brand from Corus Realty Holdings for patent infringement.