DCT
2:18-cv-00658
Modern Font Applications v. Jo Ann Stores
Key Events
Complaint
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: Modern Font Applications LLC (Utah)
- Defendant: JO-ANN STORES, LLC (Ohio)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: KUNZLER, PC
- Case Identification: 2:18-cv-00658, D. Utah, 08/22/2018
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper because Defendant operates at least one regular and established place of business within the District of Utah, specifically citing a retail store location in Salt Lake City.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s iOS mobile application infringes a patent related to methods and systems for allowing a computer's operating system to access and render non-standard fonts delivered with a network document.
- Technical Context: The technology addresses the challenge of ensuring that electronic documents are displayed with their intended, often non-standard, fonts on end-user devices that do not have those fonts pre-installed.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint notes that the patent's priority application was filed in 2001, predating the widespread adoption of modern mobile operating systems like iOS and Android. Plaintiff asserts it is the exclusive licensee of the patent-in-suit. No prior litigation or post-grant proceedings are mentioned in the complaint.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2001-07-16 | '421 Patent Priority Date |
| 2003-01-01 | Development of Android operating system allegedly began (approx.) |
| 2007-01-01 | iPhone, iOS, and Android operating system allegedly introduced (approx.) |
| 2008-01-01 | First mobile application stores allegedly opened online (approx.) |
| 2018-02-06 | '421 Patent Issued |
| 2018-06-01 | Defendant allegedly had notice of infringement (approx.) |
| 2018-06-22 | Accused Product version 5.2.2 released |
| 2018-08-22 | Complaint Filing Date |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 9,886,421 - Allowing Operating System Access to Non-Standard Fonts in a Network Document (Issued Feb. 6, 2018)
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent describes a problem where electronic documents using non-standard fonts are displayed incorrectly on a reader's computer because the operating system, lacking the required font, substitutes a default font, thereby altering the author's intended visual presentation ('421 Patent, col. 1:57-66; Compl. ¶25). Prior art solutions, such as representing text as static image files, were identified as being inefficient, increasing download times, and preventing users from copying, pasting, or stylizing the text ('421 Patent, col. 2:5-20; Compl. ¶¶26-27).
- The Patented Solution: The invention proposes a system where a network document contains or references a "font package" with the data for any non-standard fonts. When a user's computer accesses the document, an "exposure module" is also downloaded. This module installs or "exposes" the non-standard font data to the local operating system, allowing the OS to render the characters correctly as if they were native fonts ('421 Patent, Abstract). This integration enables full text functionality, such as copying, pasting, and editing across different applications ('421 Patent, col. 3:30-40, Fig. 6; Compl. ¶32).
- Technical Importance: This approach aimed to preserve both the author's intended typography and the full functionality of digital text, overcoming the limitations of prior methods that sacrificed text interactivity for visual fidelity ('421 Patent, col. 14:46-56; Compl. ¶34).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claims 1 (a non-transitory computer-readable medium), 6 (a computer-implemented method), and 11 (a hand-held device) (Compl. ¶¶41, 50).
- Independent Claim 1 includes the following essential elements:
- A non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible by a hand-held device.
- An "electronic file package" with display characters and instructions for identifying the characters and one or more "external fonts."
- A "font package" with one or more external font files, where the font package is "separate from" the instructions.
- An "exposure module" for installing the external font files into a "temporary fonts directory" on the device.
- The installation results in the characters being displayed by a "program module of the operating system" using the external fonts, and a "system font table" on the device being updated to reflect the availability of the external font files.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional dependent claims (Compl. ¶41).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The "JOANN - Crafts & Coupons application for iOS devices," specifically including "at least version number 5.2.2, released on June 22, 2018" (Compl. ¶41).
Functionality and Market Context
- The complaint alleges the accused product is an iOS application distributed as an ".ipa" file from an application store (Compl. ¶¶46-47). This file is alleged to contain an "electronic file package" consisting of executable files (within a "/Payload/" directory), ".nib" files, and separate font packages containing external font files (e.g., ".ttf" files) (Compl. ¶¶43-45).
- The ".ipa" file itself is alleged to function as the claimed "exposure module," which installs the font files into a temporary directory on the iOS device (Compl. ¶46).
- The complaint alleges that the application updates a "system font table" by using the "UIAppFonts" key in the application's "Info.plist" file, which directs the iOS operating system to load the specified fonts and make them available for use by the application (Compl. ¶49).
- The complaint references Defendant's website and YouTube channel as evidence of marketing materials that encourage customers to download and use the accused application (Compl. ¶53).
IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations
No probative visual evidence provided in complaint.
'421 Patent Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| an electronic file package including a plurality of display characters and computer executable instructions for identifying the plurality of display characters for display and for identifying one or more external fonts used to render at least one of the plurality of display characters | Defendant's iOS application file allegedly provides an executable file in a "/Payload/" directory and ".nib" files, which contain characters and instructions for displaying characters and identifying external fonts. | ¶43 | col. 16:2-9 |
| a font package comprising one or more external font files that include formatting information necessary for the hand-held device to render the at least one of the plurality of display characters using the one or more identified external fonts, the font package separate from the computer executable instructions for identifying the plurality of display characters for display | Within the iOS application file, Defendant allegedly provides font packages as ".ttf" files in a subdirectory of "/Payload/", which are separate files from the executable and ".nib" files containing the instructions. | ¶¶44-45 | col. 16:10-17 |
| an exposure module for installation of the one or more external font files in a temporary fonts directory on the hand-held device, the one or more external font files being received from the computer responsive to the computer receiving a request for the font package from the hand-held device so that the hand-held device can render the at least one of the plurality of display characters | The application is delivered as an ".ipa" file, which the complaint alleges is the "exposure module." This file allegedly ensures external font files are placed in a temporary directory on the device, which is deleted when the application is updated or removed. The application is received from an app store server after a request from the user's device. | ¶¶46-47 | col. 16:18-24 |
| whereby when the plurality of display characters are displayed, the plurality of display characters are displayed by a program module of the operating system using the one or more external font files, wherein in response to the one or more external font files being installed, a system font table of the hand-held device is updated to reflect an availability of the external font files | When the characters are displayed, they are allegedly displayed by a program module of the operating system using the external fonts. The complaint alleges that the application's use of the "UIAppFonts" key in the "Info.plist" file constitutes an update to the "system font table," as it makes the fonts available for use when the application is executing. | ¶¶48-49 | col. 16:25-33 |
- Identified Points of Contention:
- Scope Questions: A potential dispute may arise over whether the accused product—a self-contained mobile application downloaded from an app store—falls within the scope of the patent’s disclosure, which is heavily focused on "network documents" like web pages requested by a "browsing computer" ('421 Patent, col. 4:18-24). The court may need to decide if the modern app-store ecosystem is analogous to the server-browser architecture described.
- Technical Questions: The complaint's allegation that a standard iOS application package (".ipa") and its manifest file ("Info.plist") correspond to the claimed "exposure module" and the act of updating a "system font table" may be a central point of contention. A question for the court will be whether using a standard, OS-provided mechanism for bundling fonts within a sandboxed application is equivalent to the patent's described "installation module" (e.g., an ActiveX control) that makes fonts available to the broader operating system for inter-application use ('421 Patent, col. 12:41-43, col. 14:30-36).
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "exposure module"
- Context and Importance: This term defines the active software component that facilitates the installation of the non-standard fonts. The infringement theory depends on construing this term to read on a standard iOS application package (".ipa" file) (Compl. ¶46). Practitioners may focus on this term because its construction will determine whether a standard feature of a modern mobile OS constitutes the inventive component described in the patent.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent's abstract states an "exposure module is also downloaded to the browsing computer" and it "either permanently installs or temporarily exposes the operating system... to the computer readable font formatting information," suggesting a functional definition that is not tied to a specific implementation ('421 Patent, Abstract).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification's embodiments repeatedly describe the module using specific technologies of the era, such as an "ACTIVEX® control" or a browser "plug-in" that works with a "conforming browser" ('421 Patent, col. 12:41-43, 62-64). This could support an argument that the term requires a distinct, add-on component rather than the main application package itself.
The Term: "system font table"
- Context and Importance: The claims require that this table be "updated to reflect an availability of the external font files." The complaint alleges this is met by listing fonts in an app's "Info.plist" via the "UIAppFonts" key (Compl. ¶49). The definition is critical because the scope of font availability (app-specific versus system-wide) is a core technical distinction.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The term itself is general and could be construed to mean any OS-managed list that makes a font available for rendering, even if that availability is limited to the application that provided it.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification emphasizes that a "unique benefit" is that the installed fonts "can be used the same as any of the font characters originally loaded," including being "copied and pasted to any other application being control by operating system 505" ('421 Patent, col. 14:24-36, Fig. 6). This may support a narrower construction requiring system-level availability beyond the confines of a single application.
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges inducement by citing Defendant's marketing materials, including its website and a YouTube video, which allegedly "encourage customers to use Defendant's Accused Product(s) in an infringing manner" (Compl. ¶53). Contributory infringement is also alleged, based on the assertion that the accused product is especially adapted for practicing the invention and not a staple article of commerce (Compl. ¶54).
- Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges that Defendant has had notice of its infringement "since at least June 2018," which could form the basis for a willfulness claim for any infringement occurring after that date (Compl. ¶52).
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A central issue will be one of technical correspondence: does the standard iOS mechanism for bundling fonts within a self-contained application (using an ".ipa" package and an "Info.plist" file) meet the claim requirements for an "exposure module" that installs fonts and updates a "system font table," as those terms are described in the patent's 2001-era, web-browser-centric specification?
- A related key question will be one of claim scope: does the claim limitation "system font table... is updated" require making the non-standard fonts available for system-wide, inter-application use, as suggested by the patent's disclosure, or is the sandboxed, application-specific font availability provided by the accused iOS functionality sufficient to meet this limitation?