In a rare patent infringement cases involving Web application security, F5 Networks is suing Imperva for allegedly using its patented application security technology in Imperva’s Web application firewall and other security products.
F5’s patent suit, which the networking and security company filed on May 4, calls for both a preliminary and permanent injunction barring Imperva and others from developing, selling — and using — its Secure Sphere and other products that infringe on F5’s so-called “Method and System for Extracting Application Protocol Characteristics” patent, which was awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2001. The patent, number 6,311,278, is also referred to as the “‘278 patent” in F5’s filing. (full article)
