Insurer sues Amazon.com over patent suits

Pacific Northwest

Amazon.com's insurer sued the Seattle company, asking a U.S. judge to rule that patent lawsuits brought by IBM aren't covered under three liability policies.

Amazon, the world's biggest Internet retailer, claims Atlantic Mutual Insurance is obligated to pay costs to fight the suits and cover any losses.

IBM sued Amazon in October, saying the company "built its business" on technology owned by IBM and demanding royalties. IBM claims to own patents for systems that fashion recommendations for customers based on past purchases, Web site navigation and data-storage technologies.

The two IBM lawsuits don't apply to events that occurred during the Amazon policies' coverage period, Atlantic Mutual said in a complaint filed March 2 in federal court in Tyler, Texas, where one of IBM's suits is pending. IBM's claims also don't fit the definition of "advertising injury" that the policies cover, the suit said.

Microsoft

Suits filed against cybersquatters

Microsoft is expanding an ongoing attempt to crack down on companies that register Internet domain names similar to the software giant's own brands and Web sites.

On Monday, the company filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against Maltuzi, a Mountain View, Calif., company that says it owns more than 100,000 domain names. Another suit was filed in King County Superior Court against "John Doe" defendants in an attempt to determine the identities of the owners of additional domain names that Microsoft believes infringe on its trademarks. A third John Doe suit was filed in federal court in Seattle in December.

Microsoft has also taken action against five so-called cybersquatters in the United Kingdom.

Microsoft says these companies attempt to profit through pay-per-click advertising on Web sites that may be reached in error by someone trying to navigate to a Microsoft site (for example, typing www.micr0soft.com instead of www.microsoft.com).

The company has also advanced several cases initiated last summer against other so-called cybersquatters. It said it settled with defendants in two cases filed in federal courts in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, and with Dyslexic Domain, a U.K.-based company.

Organic to Go

Seattle catering firm acquired

Organic to Go, the Seattle-based company that serves organic and natural sandwiches, soups and salads, has bought the Seattle-based catering firm Jackrabbit for an undisclosed amount.

Organic to Go plans to keep Jackrabbit's roughly 30 employees, including founder and owner Peter Cassidy, who will become Organic to Go's head of kitchens and catering.

Jackrabbit had 2006 revenue of about $2 million. Organic to Go, which recently became publicly traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board, had 2006 sales of $9.8 million.

Compiled from Bloomberg News and Seattle Times staff