MOBOTIX Corp Prevails In Patent Dispute
MOBOTIX Corp., New York, prevailed again in a patent dispute with San Antonio, Texas-based e-Watch Inc. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted MOBOTIX Corp.’s request and determined that all claims of U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,183 challenged by MOBOTIX Corp. are not patentable. According to a board of three patent judges, MOBOTIX Corp. has shown that the patent claimed an invention that was already known prior to the alleged invention of the patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,183 is one of four patents asserted in a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Texas-based e-Watch Inc. against MOBOTIX Corp. After MOBOTIX Corp. obtained stay of the lawsuit at a U.S. federal court in Texas in June 2013, recent cancellation of the first patent is another important milestone. Decisions in five other review proceedings, which challenge the three other patents owned by e-Watch Inc. are expected to be issued later this year.
“For more than 15 years, we have been a successful pioneer in the IP video surveillance market and have shaped groundbreaking innovations in this industry,” said Heidi Barnum, head of internal operations at MOBOTIX Corp. “Moreover, we’ve always meticulously researched patents and trademarks. Therefore, we are confident that patents cannot be asserted effectively against us, especially when the patent was filed after 1999.
“We are very pleased with the success in the patent dispute with e-Watch and encouraged to defend our technology in regards to patent lawsuits. We will always check all of our legal options. In this case, challenging patentability by requesting inter partes review at the USPTO was the appropriate approach.”