DLA Piper Successfully Represents IMX in Patent Dispute Against LendingTree; Jury Finds Willful Infringement; Awards IMX More Than $5.7 Million in Damages

Business Wire, Jan 24, 2006

PALO ALTO, Calif. & SAN DIEGO -- DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP today announced that the firm successfully represented IMX, Inc., a leading provider of technology solutions for the mortgage industry, in a patent dispute against LendingTree, LLC.

On Monday, January 23, following a two-week trial in the U.S. District Court of Delaware, a jury rendered a verdict finding willful infringement of IMX's patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,995,947), which provides an Internet-accessible, interactive, real-time network whereby borrowers and lenders exchange information in the pursuit of securing a loan.

IMX was awarded $5,794,400 in damages and the company anticipates that the Court will issue an injunction to stop LendingTree's infringement.

"We are very pleased with the verdict," said Michele Buschman, acting CEO of IMX. "We've maintained all along that LendingTree infringes this patent. While we would have preferred to settle the issue out of court, we are extremely satisfied that the validity of this key technological innovation has been upheld."

"We are grateful for the opportunity to represent IMX in this matter and also pleased with the outcome," added John Allcock, a patent litigation lawyer and chair of DLA Piper's Intellectual Property practice who led the trial team that represented IMX. "We are committed to protecting IMX's intellectual property and its technology."

DLA Piper's Patent Litigation practice group is on a winning streak that stretches back to early 2005. Since then, the firm has prevailed in six consecutive patent trials. DLA Piper initially filed the patent lawsuit on behalf of IMX in November 2003.

In addition to Allcock, who is based in the firm's San Diego office, DLA Piper's trial team included M. Elizabeth Day, William G. Goldman, Christine Kerba Corbett, Greg Lundell, and Sal Lim, all of whom are patent litigation lawyers from the firm's Silicon Valley office in East Palo Alto, Calif. Richard L. Horwitz, a partner at Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP in Wilmington, Del. acted as local counsel on behalf of IMX.

DLA Piper's intellectual property practice offers clients comprehensive IP services, including trademark, copyright, patent prosecution, IP due diligence, strategic IP asset management and IP litigation services. The firm has more than 400 IP attorneys globally and 220 IP attorneys in the U.S., which ranks the group among the largest IP practices in the world and one of the five largest in the U.S., according to a 2004 survey by Managing Intellectual Property magazine.

In the U.S., DLA Piper's Patent Litigation practice includes more than 80 lawyers. The firm has handled more than 150 cases in U.S. District Courts and the International Trade Commission over the past three years. In its annual survey of U.S. patent litigation practices, IP Law & Business magazine ranked the firm's patent litigation team among the top 25 law firms, based on 2004 patent case filings, even though the survey assessed Gray Cary and Piper Rudnick separately because the relevant filings preceded the January 2005 merger.

About IMX, Inc.

IMX, Inc., based in Houston, Texas, is a leading provider of software solutions for the mortgage industry. IMX offers a comprehensive suite of workflow tools that enable mortgage lenders and originators to communicate and conduct business quickly and efficiently, online. All the Company's products deliver real-time, fully-adjusted pricing to any user with browser access.

IMX is dedicated to helping mortgage professionals apply the efficiencies of Internet technology to their already-existing daily business processes. IMX's innovative and patented technology delivers unmatched product discovery for brokers and retail branches, and advanced web-enabled distribution channels for lenders. For more information about IMX, please visit www.imx.com or call (800) 401-4639.

About DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP (www.dlapiper.com)

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US LLP is a business law firm with more than 3,000 lawyers and 58 offices in 22 countries throughout the U.S., U.K., Europe, and Asia. In the U.S., the firm has more than 1,500 lawyers and 21 offices. The firm has leading practices in commercial, corporate and finance, human resources, litigation, real estate, regulatory and legislative, and technology, media and communications.