Google denies patent infringement charges of Jarg/Northeastern U.

IDG News observed: Google responded on Friday [11 Jan. 08] to a lawsuit filed against it by Northeastern University, denying claims that its search service infringes on patented technology. (...) Google argued that the patent [US 5,694,593] is invalid and should not have been awarded in the first place. It cites various sections of U.S. patent law [101, 102, 103, 112], including those that deal with the novelty of an invention and prior art. It also cites the doctrine of "laches," which essentially requires plaintiffs to file lawsuits in a timely manner.

IPBiz had discussed details of the suit in ED Texas by Jarg/Northeastern against Google in:

Northeastern Univ. goes after Google over patent

Again, IPBiz asks if one should consider Northeastern University, which does not make a product related to the patent in question and which did file in ED Texas, to be a patent troll? If not so, should Northeastern University be considered differently from an independent inventor who might take the same actions? How about Philo Farnsworth vs. RCA. Should RCA have gotten a walk because they successfully innovated, even though they did not invent?