Hyundai accused of car infotainment patent infringement
Automotive company Hyundai is at the centre of a patent infringement lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.
The complaint, which was filed on Monday, December 3, by Korea-based Dale Progress, alleged that Hyundai’s use of MirrorLink in its cars infringes patented technology.
MirrorLink is described as the “leading industry standard for car-smartphone connectivity”.
According to the filing, Hyundai has been infringing the patents, “Remote resource access interface apparatus” (US numbers 9,686,504 and 8,320,461) by making, using, importing, selling and distributing MirrorLink in its Azera vehicles.
Dale Progress claimed that specific methods and apparatus used by Hyundai in the production of its vehicles infringe the patent.
These include the configuration of the infotainment systems in Hyundai’s cars, which are set up with a communication unit that receives information from a smartphone. The systems are also configured with a touch-input detection unit that generates information on the display screen.
The filing alleged that these methods have been used without a licence.
Another method which allegedly violates the patent is the use of ‘framebuffer scaling’. Framebuffer scaling is used when a video is played from a smartphone and mirrored onscreen in a car. In order to mirror video, screen resolution is also processed and the video is scaled to overcome the higher resolution of smartphone screens.
Dale Progress is seeking a permanent injunction and triple damages.
Hyundai is no stranger to patent litigation cases in the US. In September, the company was accused of infringing 22 patents relating to car technology by Michigan Motor Technologies. The 180-page filing alleged that electronic throttle valve systems used in Hyundai’s vehicles violated the terms of the patents, and named dozens of cars in the lawsuit.
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