Bank Of America, Wells Fargo Hit With Patent Suit Targeting Mobile App Development

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Two of the largest U.S. banks – Bank of America (“BofA”) and Wells Fargo – were sued for patent infringement by Wapp Tech Limited Partnership and Wapp Tech Corp. in the Eastern District of Texas in July 2018.  The lawsuits allege infringement of three patents relating to mobile device application development and testing systems that simulate network characteristics indicative of mobile app performance.

As mobile banking applications continue to increase in usage and importance in the financial services industry, the surface area exposed to patent lawsuits has also increased. 

Over the last several years, patent lawsuits against financial services companies have decreased significantly, due in large part to the Supreme Court’s Alice decision as well as the America Invents Act Covered Business Method review program, which can be used to challenge patents directed to financial, non-technological business methods. However, that downward trend may change direction as Alice is applied more predictably and consistently by the USPTO and the courts.  Couple that course correction with the expanding mobile-centric, cloud-centric trend in banking, and more cloud-based financial technology focused lawsuits are likely to follow.