Context: Barcelona-based Fractus has been carving out a solid slice of the IoT licensing market this year, confirming the signing of its first IoT patent deals with smart home security providers Vivint in February and ADT in October off the back of disputes it had filed against them in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in 2022 (October 2, 2024 Fractus press release). In November, it announced the addition of a third licensee in the home security and smart home industry in the U.S. (although the identity of that company remains unknown).
What’s new: Fractus has launched another IoT-related dispute in the Eastern District of Texas (December 16, 2024 Fractus press release), alleging that U.S. telecoms provider Verizon and Canada-based telematics manufacturer Geotab are unlawfully utilizing its patented antenna innovations to enable advanced connectivity solutions. They have collectively infringed six of Fractus’ patents related to wireless communications, multimedia and antenna technologies, it has alleged. The plaintiff is also seeking damages of an unspecified amount.
Direct impact and wider ramifications: Fractus is determined to carve out a space for itself in the IoT market – this is indicated by recent comments made by CEO Jordi Ilario on the important role of enforcement in securing its licensing agreements: “We have made the most progress in home security because this is the vertical where we filed litigation.” The company’s new disputes come against a backdrop of an increasingly fragmented IoT market, acknowledged even by the likes of Nokia Technologies, which has made significant headway in the licensing of their patents to a wide variety of verticals. Despite Fractus’ recent success in inking IoT deals, the company’s slew of disputes in the U.S. underlines it is adopting an increasingly offensive IP licensing approach.
This is the complaint against Verizon:
This is the complaint against Geotab:
Fractus is alleging that the two defendants both infringed:
- US Patent No. 8,456,365 (“Multi-band monopole antennas for mobile communications devices”)
- US Patent No. 8,810,458 (“Handheld device with two antennas, and method of enhancing the isolation between the antennas”)
- US Patent No. 11,031,677 (“Multiple-body-configuration multimedia and smartphone multifunction wireless devices”)
- US Patent No. 12,095,149 (“Multiple-body-configuration multimedia and smartphone multifunction wireless devices”)
Additionally, it alleges, Geotab infringed:
- US Patent No. 8,472,908 (“Wireless portable device including internal broadcast receiver”)
While Verizon also allegedly infringed the following:
- US Patent No. 11,349,200 (“Multiple-body-configuration multimedia and smartphone multifunction wireless devices”)
Fractus first noticed Geotab of its alleged infringing activities via a letter in October 2021. The company replied in November 2021, asking for claim charts. While Fractus responded a month later offering to sign a nondisclosure agreement to protect the information exchange, Geotab refused in two letters on January 10, 2022 and January 25, 2022.
The claimant also first noticed Verizon in November 2021, providing a full list of the patents that it alleged Verizon was infringing. It received a reply from Bukola Landis-Aina, Associate General Counsel of Verizon, in February 2022, asking for additional materials. Fractus replied to that letter in September 2024 but has not yet received a reply.
In a statement today, Mr. Ilario noted that Fractus invested heavily in the research and development of antenna technologies that are now integrated across many IoT verticals. He said:
“We will not hesitate to act when our rights are infringed upon. When companies refuse to engage in good-faith negotiations, we are compelled to take legal action.”
Also today, Ruben Bonet, Fractus’ Executive Chairman stated:
“Fractus’ innovations have contributed significantly to the evolution of connectivity. We are committed to protecting our innovations and to ensure a level playing field for those who respect intellectual property rights.”
This year, Fractus has announced the signing of four new licensees – one in the medical device sector and a further three in IoT. Before this, it had struck deals licensing its antenna patents to large phone and electronics companies including Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC, Asus, ZTE, TCL, and CommScope – although it had not brought any new deals between 2020 and 2024.
Its success in the IoT market this year has largely come off the back of the disputes it has been filing in U.S. courts, including those signed with Vivint and ADT, which brought an end to lawsuits it launched in the Eastern District of Texas in late 2022. This is likely partly due to the fragmented nature of the IoT industry, which seems to have pushed the company into taking a more offensive approach to its IP strategy.
Fractus is being represented by Susman Godfrey‘s Joseph Grinstein, Justin Nelson, Max Tribble, Robert Greenfeld, and Rachel P. Thompson, as well as Capshaw DeRieux‘s S. Calvin Capshaw and Miller Fair Henry‘s Claire Abernathy.
The firm has been representing Fractus for 15 years and is excited to continue to help defend its IP, Susman Godfrey’s Max Tribble said today. His joint counsel Justin Nelson has represented companies in several high-profile cases in the U.S., including Dominion Voting Systems’ US$787.5 million settlement with Fox News in April 2023. His portfolio also includes several IP enforcement successes and he is currently representing ParTec in its patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft (June 10, 2024 ip fray article), the Authors Guild in a copyright infringement suit against OpenAI (June 22, 2024 ip fray article) and Bartz in a copyright infringement class action against against Claude LLM maker Anthropic, (October 10, 2024 ip fray article).