Object Video Gets Sued, Then Settles
By: Carlton Purvis, Published on Jul 24, 2013One company refused to be bullied by ObjectVideo, proactively suing the company after it received a letter claiming it infringed on patents. In this update we break down the latest patent case involving ObjectVideo and the interesting outcome.
The Suit
In January, ObjectVideo sent a letter to ShopperTrak alleging the company infringed on its video tripwire patents (6,970,083 and 6,696,945). In the letter, ObjectVideo offered Shoppertrak a chance to join its patent amnesty program, according to court records. Through the program, which ObjectVideo announced last March, all damages against ShopperTrak could be waived after a one time payment and a per unit royalty agreement.
Instead of joining the program or waiting for litigation from ObjectVideo, ShopperTrak went on the offensive and filed a complaint against ObjectVideo. ShopperTrak, which has its own people and object recognition patents that go back as far as 1994, asked the court for a jury trial to declare ObjectVideo’s patents invalid. Before the case got very far (before ObjectVideo even responded to the complaint), ShopperTrak filed a motion to dismiss that was granted on June 19th. ShopperTrak’s lawyer said part of the agreement was that neither party could talk about the case.
Settlement
Both ObjectVideo and ShopperTrak have confirmed that there is a settlement agreement between the two companies, but declined to disclose any details. The difference between this settlement and past settlements is that ObjectVideo has not announced a licensing agreement with ShopperTrak like it has with other companies like Pelco, Bosch and 3VR.
Who Won?
It still is not clear who came out on top in this case. Did ShopperTrak eventually enter into an agreement to pay ObjectVideo money or did they dismiss the case because ObjectVideo agreed to back down after they questioned its patents? According to records, the patents in question were never challenged at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as a part of this case. Back in 2012 ObjectVideo requested 6,696,945 be reexamined as part of its case against Bosch, but terminated the review and the case was settled.
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