For once, JCPenney has something to be happy—not just hopeful—about. On July 22, a federal appeals court delivered what should be the final blow to a patent-infringement lawsuit that dates from CEO Mike Ullman's first stint in that job—and one for which JCPenney served as a stand-in for the entire retail industry.
It was in October 2009 that a company called Eolas, claiming it had patent rights to any interaction with images using a web browser, sued more than 20 big companies, ranging from Apple and Perot Systems to Frito-Lay and Playboy. By the time the case came to trial in 2012, most had settled, but half of those who remained were retailers: Amazon, CDW, JCPenney and Staples. As the jury deliberated, only JCPenney, Amazon, Google and Yahoo hadn't bought their way out. Then the jury came back—and invalidated all of Eolas's patents.