On August 27, 2010, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen filed suit against 11 major web companies, including Apple, eBay and Google, claiming infringement of four patents. The suit came as several of these companies faced unrelated intellectual property litigation for other alleged violations. In December 2010, a judge for the US District Court for the Western District of Washington dismissed Allen's lawsuit. Allen re-filed the patent suit that same month with an amended patent infringement complaint.

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