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26 May 2023PatentsSarah Speight

Toyota clashes with tech firm over in-car wifi patents

The car maker is accused of infringing a US firm’s wireless tech in all of its vehicles sold in the US | The four patents in dispute relate to the LTE standard for 4G and 5G mobile connectivity.

A US tech company has accused car maker Toyota of infringing four of its patents relating to LTE cellular connectivity, which is used for in-car wifi hotspots.

Colorado, US-based GenghisComm is seeking damages and a jury trial at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where the complaint was filed on May 24.

LTE, or long-term evolution, is a standard for wireless 4G and 5G data communication technology and is a registered trademark owned by ETSI (the European Telecommunications Standards Institute).

Toyota, headquartered in Japan, sold more than 2.3 million cars in the US in 2021, according to the suit. Many of its cars are equipped with cellular connectivity for providing internet access to other devices, or wifi hotspots, via a telematics/LTE module.

The complaint relates to four US patents owned by GenghisComm: US patent numbers 9,768,842, 10,200,227, 10,389,568, and 11,075,786.

Steve Shattil, director of GenghisComm, is the named inventor on the patents in dispute, and has devised technologies essential to cellular and wireless standards.

GenghisComm alleges that all of Toyota’s vehicles are installed with devices for LTE connectivity, including the Lexus range, 4Runner, Corolla, Highlander, Prius and RAV4.

In September 2021, counsel for GenghisComm wrote to Toyota Motor North America regarding the alleged infringement of GenghisComm’s patents. The 107-page letter included detailed claim charts for the ’842, ’227 and ’568 patents, and claims that Toyota was aware of at least these three patents since the date of the letter at the earliest.

However, after some back and forth between the two parties, GenghisComm claims that neither Toyota nor its suppliers have agreed to enter into any licensing agreement with the firm.

Separately, GenghisComm is suing Taiwanese firm ASUSTek, which makes laptops and other devices; and OnePlus, a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer, for alleged infringement of five wireless communications patents relating to devices using LTE or 5G standards.

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