Apple, Amazon, Google targeted in Texas for patent infringement
Apple, Amazon, and Google have been accused of infringing patents related to image and video processing in separate lawsuits filed by a Delaware-based company.
Dynamic Data Technologies accused Apple of infringing 11 patents in one suit and Google and YouTube of infringing 10 in another, both filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, yesterday, November 5.
The complaint against Amazon was filed at the same court on Friday, November 2, and asserts nine patents.
In each suit, Dynamic explained that it owns a portfolio containing more than 1,000 patents relating to core technologies in the image and video processing field in the US, China, Europe, Germany, Japan, and “many other” territories.
Dynamic said it is the owner-by-assignment of the patents, which cover technologies invented by Dutch multinational technology company Philips, and filed the complaints to obtain “reasonable royalties” for the use of its image and video processing patents.
In the 68-page suit against Apple, Dynamic claimed that products such as the Apple TV, iPhones, iPads, and specific versions of Apple’s operating system (iOS) contain the infringing technology.
Dynamic said that it has also filed a patent enforcement action against Apple in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Meanwhile, the 60-page complaint against Amazon claimed that “one or more” of Amazon’s video products, including the Fire TV and the Fire Tablet, and Amazon’s web services, infringe Dynamic’s patents “in regular business operations”.
The 71-page filing against Google and YouTube names products such as Google Chromecast Ultra, and services such as YouTube’s website and mobile app, as infringing Dynamic’s technology relating to image processing.
Dynamic added that it has filed an enforcement action against Google and Microsoft at the Nanjing Specialized Intellectual Property Tribunal in China.
Each complaint asked for an award of enhanced damages for infringement which was “wilful, wanton, malicious, [in] bad-faith, deliberate, [and] consciously wrongful, flagrant, or characteristic of a pirate”, in addition to attorneys’ fees.
However, it is not just Apple, Amazon, and Google that have been targeted by Dynamic recently.
In the last week, the Delaware company has also filed patent complaints against electronics maker Samsung in Texas (asserting 13 patents), electronics manufacturer HTC in New York (asserting 11 patents), graphics developer Nvidia in Delaware (asserting 12 patents), and gaming processor Advanced Micro Devices, also in Delaware (asserting 15 patents).
AppleInsider, an Apple-focused blog, said that the suit targeting Apple has “many indications that it is a case of ‘patent trolling’ by a non-practising entity”.
The blog explained: “The suit reveals the company was based in Delaware, and a search revealed it was incorporated in April of this year. Marshall, Texas, is also a major venue for patent trolling, with thousands of suits filed in the district every year on the subject.”
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