Software inventor sues Cox Comms over encryption software
An entrepreneur co-founder of a Finland-based software company has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against US internet service provider Cox Communications.
Lauri Valjakka, CEO and co-founder of IPRA Technologies, is suing Cox and its parent company, Cox Enterprises, for infringing its encryption product.
Valjakka (“Lauri”) filed the suit on May 16 in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Valjakka claims that Cox has infringed the patent-in-suit—which is branded EEZY KEYZ (end-to-end encrypted communications solutions)—by “making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing” the product.
He also claims that Cox is deriving “substantial revenue from goods and services provided to residents of this District and the State of Texas”.
The software essentially applies a method of using digital rights-management keys to provide access to access-restricted content. Valjakka, who also owns or co-owns six other related patents, obtained the patent for this software (US number 10,726,102) in July 2020.
According to Valjakka, the defendants have also “hired and are hiring within this District for positions that, on information and belief, relate to infringement of the patent-in-suit”.
In January 2022, Cox countersued music companies Sony, Universal and Warner for submitting false evidence in an infringement case that resulted in a landmark $1 billion verdict.
Meanwhile, Valjakka has also this year brought legal proceedings against Sony and Zoom.
Valjakka and Cox have been approached for comment.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
