Published: February 10, 2011

Frontline Placement Technologies Patent Infringement Lawsuit Against CRS Advanced Technology Moves Forward

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EXTON, Pa. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Frontline Placement Technologies, creators of the Aesop substitute placement and absence management system, has won the first phase in its patent infringement lawsuit against competitor CRS Advanced Technology, Montoursville, PA.

In a pre-trial Claim Construction Hearing (also known as a "Markman Hearing") in US District Court in Philadelphia, PA, substantially all of Frontline's proposed methodology for interpreting the patent claims was adopted by the court, thus moving the now three-year long case toward a jury trial.

"While we're obviously very pleased with the court's decision, we continue our efforts to resolve the dispute with CRS," said Michael Blackstone, Frontline's president.

In 1998, Frontline Placement Technologies was the first to develop and patent a web-based system for managing the absence of a teacher and the automatic fulfillment of that position with an appropriately skilled substitute teacher. Frontline also was first to blend web technologies with existing telephone IVR (interactive voice response) technologies to offer a combined system. Frontline's inventions are the subject of several issued patents and pending patent applications.

Frontline licensed certain patented technology to several competitors, including CRS, but the CRS license ended in 2007. CRS continued to operate without a license. Frontline filed suit for patent infringement in June 2007.

A Markman order is intended to interpret the language of a patent, which is a matter of law for a judge to decide rather than a matter of fact for a jury to decide. Since patent infringement suits are decided on the basis of their claims, a ruling on the language of the patent is a key component of the case.

Frontline Placement Technologies, Inc., is a privately held, international software-as-a-service company with headquarters in Exton, PA, and business operations in Pennsylvania, Canada, Arizona, London and Sydney. It serves nearly 2,500 school district customers using the Aesop system throughout the US and Canada, and more customers in a variety of other industries in Great Britain, Australia, Russia, and throughout the US.

The Court's Memorandum: www.AesopEducation.com/markman_memorandum
The Order: www.AesopEducation.com/markman_order

Corporate Website: www.FrontlinePlacement.com
Aesop Education Website: www.AesopEducation.com