IP Law Daily, PATENT NEWS: Walgreen sues competitors for infringing newly-issued patent for mobile app scanning of refill prescriptions, (Feb 4, 2014)

By Cheryl Beise, J.D.

Illinois-based Walgreen Co. has filed a lawsuit against CVS Caremark Corp. and CVS Pharmacy, Inc., accusing them of infringing a newly-issued patent claiming a method for scanning refill prescriptions using a mobile device. The complaint in Walgreen Co. v. CVS Caremark Corp. was filed January 31, in the federal district court in Wilmington, Delaware. Walgreen filed similar actions against Rite Aid Pharmacy, Shopko Stores, and Mscripts, a company in the business of developing mobile pharmacy applications.

Walgreen’s U.S. Patent No. 8,626,530, was issued January 7, 2014, and is entitled “System and method for express refill.” The patent claims a method for allowing a customer to refill a prescription medication using a mobile application executing on a web-enabled mobile device, equipped with a camera configured to capture a barcode image. Walgreen’s mobile applications implementing a “Refill by Scan” functionality for refilling a prescription are protected by the '530 patent.

CVS owns, operates, offers, and/or disseminates or makes available for dissemination mobile devices apps, including the CVS/pharmacy “myCVS Mobile Apps” (the “accused apps”), which implement a refill by scan functionality for refilling a prescription.

The complaint accuses CVS of knowingly infringing one or more claims of the'530 patent and of actively inducing its customers to infringe the '530 patent by making, using, offering, and disseminating into the stream of commerce the accused apps, as well as by operating, supporting, maintaining, and otherwise encouraging the use of the accused apps, for example by publishing literature encouraging the use of the accused apps and by offering support and technical assistance to its customers to encourage use of the accused apps in ways that infringe the claims of the 530 Patent.

Walgreen is requesting an award of damages, pre- and post-judgment interest, its costs and attorneys’ fees, and an injunction prohibiting CVS from making, using, offering, disseminating, operation, support, maintenance, and any other use of any refill by scan functionality of a mobile app, including the CVS/pharmacy myCVS Mobile Apps, covered by the '530 Patent.

The case is No. 1:14-cv-00123.

Attorneys: Anne Shea Gaza (Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP) for Walgreen Co.

Companies: Walgreen Co; CVS Caremark Corp.; CVS Pharmacy, Inc.

News: Patent DelawareNews