Intellectual Ventures sues Toyota over car wireless tech
Toyota has found its wireless and connected vehicle gadgets at the centre of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by Intellectual Ventures.
The IP licensing company, which was founded in 2000, filed its complaint against the Japanese automotive manufacturer at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on Tuesday, October 19.
Intellectual Ventures claims to own more than 70,000 patents covering “important inventions of the internet era”, including wireless technologies for vehicles. Eleven of those patents, filed between 2004 and 2016, were asserted against Toyota in the suit filed yesterday.
According to the complaint, the asserted patents cover improvements to wireless communications used in vehicles.
Toyota’s vehicles contain wireless communication systems, solutions, and services. The Prius and the Lexus are specifically named as Toyota vehicles that host allegedly infringing communications systems in Intellectual Ventures’ 96-page lawsuit.
The car maker’s Media Oriented System Transport (MOST) powers the infotainment system of the Prius and the Lexus. According to Intellectual Ventures, the way in which MOST networks communicate information directly infringes the methods claimed by its patents.
Another Toyota feature criticised in the complaint is the Toyota Remote Connect.
The Remote Connect determines vehicle information, such as speed and location, and can then provide a notification if there has been a violation by the driver (such as driving too quickly). This system also allegedly infringes the patents asserted by Intellectual Ventures.
Other elements targeted by the lawsuit include Toyota’s mobile hot-spot systems that can connect to the internet with 4G LTE, Toyota’s Dynamic Navigation system, and the Japanese manufacturer’s Bird’s Eye View camera system.
Toyota is inducing acts of infringement by providing its customers with instructions on how to use these products and services in a manner that infringes the claims of Intellectual Ventures’ patents, the IP licensing company claimed.
It added that Toyota additionally commits contributory infringement and actively induces infringement by selling the products and services which are causing the direct infringement of the patents.
According to the complaint, Toyota had actual knowledge of its alleged infringement due to a letter sent on October 18, 2021, just one day before the lawsuit was filed.
Intellectual Ventures is seeking damages for infringement and ongoing royalties, in addition to costs and attorneys’ fees.
Intellectual Ventures has previously reaped the rewards of IP litigation; in 2019, a jury awarded the company $43 million after finding that telecoms companies T-Mobile and Ericsson infringed three of its patents.
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