Kickstarter Wins Crowdfunding Patent Lawsuit Against ArtistShare

Boxing FightKickstarter has achieved a major victory in federal court today, marking the end of a four-year-long patent dispute.

In 2011, ArtistShare, which was founded Brian Camelio, was issued a patent for “Method and Apparatuses for Financing and Marketing a Creative Work,” claiming “a system and method for raising financing an/or revenue by [an] artist for a project, where the project may be a creative work of the artist.”

The patent reads:

ArtistShare“The present invention is directed to a system and method for raising financing and/or revenue by artist for a project, where the project may be a creative work of the artist. The method including registering, by at least one artist, with a centralized database, at least one or more projects, offering, by the at least one artist, an entitlement related to the artist in exchange for capital for the project of the artist. The method and system may also include searching, by an interested party, the centralized database, for the least one artist, registering, by the interested party, with the centralized database and accepting the offer by the interested party for the entitlement related to the project. The capital may then be forwarded to the artist and the entitlement provided to the interested party.”

Kickstarter 3This case, which was instituted in 2011, has steadily progressed in Kickstarter’s favor, with ArtistShare admitting in 2013 that Kickstarter does not infringe on its patent. Today, Judge Katherine Polk Failla of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order granting Kickstarter’s motion for summary judment and finding ArtistShare’s patent invalid.

Kickstarter Deputy General Counsel Michal Rosenn, stated:

“We’re pleased the Court agreed that this patent is invalid, and we’re happy to see this case reach its conclusion. This is a win for artists, ideas, and creative freedom.”

The docket number for the case is 1:11-cv-06909-KPF.

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