A GRSM intellectual property team, led by Partner Reid Dammann and Patent Agent Stefan Ibroni, secured a complete and voluntary withdrawal of all infringement allegations on behalf of the firm’s technology client. The successful outcome preempted costly litigation and affirmed the team’s aggressive and detail-oriented defense strategy.
The plaintiff, a patent assertion entity, alleged that the technology client’s products infringed a portfolio of patents related to “interactive personal surveillance” systems. The patents claimed methods for using mobile device sensors, such as GPS, accelerometers, and cameras, to determine a user’s activity and surroundings, automatically select a corresponding “surveillance mode,” and communicate information to a remote server. The plaintiff aggressively asserted early 2008 priority dates to shield its patents from prior art identified by GRSM.
GRSM’s defense began with a comprehensive technical analysis, demonstrating that the core concepts of the asserted patents were already disclosed in prior art. Directly anticipating the plaintiff’s claims, the defense presented irrefutable evidence from earlier systems that taught methods for using mobile device location data to initiate timed “at-risk intervals” and send alerts.
The plaintiff attempted to dismiss this prior art by asserting a 2008 priority date for its patents. In response, the GRSM team executed the critical second phase of their strategy. The team conducted an exhaustive analysis of the complex patent family histories to challenge this claim directly. The defense conclusively proved that the key asserted patents were not entitled to the early priority dates claimed by the plaintiff but instead had much later priority dates of 2012 and 2014, rendering the prior art identified by the defense undeniably effective. Furthermore, GRSM firmly rebuffed the plaintiff’s attempt to improperly shift the burden of proof by demanding that the technology client produce technical documents to disprove the yet-unsubstantiated claims.
Faced with this multi-pronged and meticulous defense, which effectively collapsed its core arguments, the plaintiff withdrew its infringement allegations in their entirety. This result underscores GRSM’s experience in dissecting complex patent prosecution histories and defending technology companies against unfounded assertions, leading to a decisive and cost-effective resolution for the firm’s client.
Learn more about GRSM’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice.