Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/gift-cards/simon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees/ --- description: A Texas court granted the companies' fee motions in September but left the amount to a further accounting process. Their combined requests exceed $3.2 million. title: Simon and Blackhawk win fee ruling in Alexsam gift-card patent case image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/simon-blackhawk-win-fee-ruling-alexsam-gift-card-patent-case-5356add6c712ad3feb5ca480fa88713e.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Gift Cards](https://giftcard.news/gift-cards/) # Simon and Blackhawk win fee ruling in Alexsam gift-card patent case A Texas court granted the companies' fee motions in September but left the amount to a further accounting process. Their combined requests exceed $3.2 million. By [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) September 16, 2026 2 min read [ Google News ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=giftcard.news&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Simon+and+Blackhawk+win+fee+ruling+in+Alexsam+gift-card+patent+case&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Simon+and+Blackhawk+win+fee+ruling+in+Alexsam+gift-card+patent+case+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Customer hands holding a blue card at a retail payment terminal](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/simon-blackhawk-win-fee-ruling-alexsam-gift-card-patent-case-customer-hands-w1280.webp) Illustrative card payment at a retail terminal; not a photograph of the parties or events in this report. Photo: SpotOn / Unsplash [Simon Property Group](https://giftcard.news/company/simon-property-group/) and [Blackhawk Network](https://giftcard.news/company/blackhawk-network/) won a ruling allowing them to recover reasonable defence fees and expenses from [Alexsam](https://giftcard.news/company/alexsam/) in a patent dispute involving gift-card systems. The September order did not set the amount. Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne granted the companies' motions in a September 16 memorandum order [\[S01\]](#article-source-1), filed September 17 in the Eastern District of Texas. The ruling concerns the cost of the litigation after an earlier finding of non-infringement. Alexsam had accused Simon products, including Visa and American Express gift cards, and Blackhawk's gift-card network of infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,000,608\. Its claims centred on a multifunction card system and the use of existing point-of-sale equipment. The September order finds Alexsam's litigation conduct exceptional under the patent-law provision allowing reasonable attorney fees. Payne focused on the company's infringement position and its treatment of an agreed interpretation of the point-of-sale limitation. The court said it did not need to resolve a separate dispute about the effect of earlier patent-invalidity litigation. Simon requested $1.8 million in defence costs. Blackhawk sought $1,340,628.80 in attorney fees and $95,609.49 in expert fees, a total of $1,436,238.29\. Those are the companies' requests, not amounts fixed by the order. The data behind the story ### Defence costs requested in the gift-card patent dispute Amounts recorded as the defendants’ requests in the September16 memorandum order, not the amounts awarded. Requested defence costs USD Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table. Source Eastern District of Texas memorandum order, page7, filed September17,2026 Simon’s request is reported in the order as USD1.8 million. Blackhawk’s total combines USD1,340,628.80 attorney fees and USD95,609.49 expert fees. These requests are not a judicially fixed award or confirmed payments; the September order required further supporting accounts. Show data tableHide data table Scroll left or right to see all columns __Defence costs requested in the gift-card patent dispute (USD)__ | Category | Requested defence costs | | -------------------- | ----------------------- | | Simon Property Group | 1,800,000.00 USD | | Blackhawk Network | 1,436,238.29 USD | Payne said the defendants had not yet supplied the evidence or agreement needed to determine the award. He directed them to give Alexsam a detailed accounting within 30 days and then try to agree a figure. If they cannot, the companies must seek a further ruling supported by evidence. The new development therefore concerns fee recovery in the existing dispute. It does not create a new patent infringement finding against the gift-card operators or establish that the requested sums have been paid. The order also breaks out USD100,000 in expert fees and USD30,000 in e-discovery vendor costs within Simon’s request, with the remainder described as attorneys’ fees. The requested totals therefore include more than lawyers’ bills alone. The September ruling’s direction to substantiate the costs is distinct from deciding entitlement to reasonable recovery. ## In this article ### Companies * [Alexsam](https://giftcard.news/company/alexsam/) * [Blackhawk Network](https://giftcard.news/company/blackhawk-network/) * [Simon Property Group](https://giftcard.news/company/simon-property-group/) ### Sources and documents * [\[S01\] Original primary announcement](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-txed-2%5F19-cv-00331/pdf/USCOURTS-txed-2%5F19-cv-00331-4.pdf?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Simon+and+Blackhawk+win+fee+ruling+in+Alexsam+gift-card+patent+case&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Simon+and+Blackhawk+win+fee+ruling+in+Alexsam+gift-card+patent+case+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fgift-cards%2Fsimon-blackhawk-alexsam-gift-card-patent-fees%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) Journalist — Gift Cards & Digital Gifting Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. 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