10:35 AM -- Paul Allen's patent infringement suit against biggies such as Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), Netflix Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), and Facebook came up short when a district judge dismissed it because the suit failed to identify specific devices that allegedly infringed on the intellectual property.

Allen targeted those companies in late August, claiming they were violating patents that the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) co-founder developed through a now-defunct Silicon Valley lab called Interval Research Group more than 10 years ago. Boiled down, the suit claims its targets were violating "fundamental Web technologies" tied to e-commerce and Internet search capabilities. (See Cable Catchup .)

But the fight isn't over. Judge Marsha Pechman of the US District Court for the Western District of Washington did give Interval Research Group until December 28 to amend its complaint.

An Allen spokesman reportedly labeled the ruling a "a procedural issue," adding that there's every intention to file a revised complaint with more specific charges.

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Light Reading Cable