On Wednesday plaintiff Social Positioning Input Systems, LLC (SPIS) filed a complaint in the Central District of California against ClearPathGPS, Inc., a fleet tracking management platform, for patent infringement, claiming that the defendant infringed the patent-in-suit by its products, which allegedly utilized the patented GPS tracking method.
The patent-in-suit is United States Patent No. 9,261,365 (the ’365 patent), entitled “Device, System and Method for Remotely Entering, Storing and Sharing Addresses for a Positional Information Device,” which describes “a method and apparatus for entering, storing and sharing addresses for a positional information device.” For example, the plaintiff stated that the patent has a method and system that includes a “requesting positional information device, a sending positional information device, and a server.” Accordingly, the “requesting positional information device makes a request to a server for an address stored in the sending positional information device,” then the server obtains the address from the sending positional information device, whereby the server must “determin(e) a second identifier for the sending positional information device based on the first identifier.”
According to the plaintiff, ClearPathGPS allegedly infringed at least claim 1 of the ’365 patent by “making, using…, importing, selling, and/or offering for sale associated hardware and software for asset locating services,” such as the defendant’s ClearPathGPS fleet tracking platform, app, and other related hardware and software, which purportedly provide “a vehicle tracking system for real-time GPS tracking of assets.” Specifically, the plaintiff averred that a user can receive location information on a positional information device such as a mobile device or computer. Accordingly, the defendant’s product sends a real-time location request of a vehicle from a device to a server with the necessary identifier such as user ID and password for the Product, after which, the server receives the address from the second device sending the position information and the server transmits this location position. Then, the second identifier (the tracking device’s ID number) for the second sending position information device is connected and mapped to the first identifier to track the real-time location, the plaintiff stated. As a result, the plaintiff claimed that ClearPathGPS’s products infringed the patent-in-suit by purportedly utilizing the patented method and system.
The defendant is accused of direct, indirect, contributory, and induced infringement. The plaintiff has sought declaratory judgment in its favor, an order enjoining the defendant from further infringement, an award for damages, pre and post judgment interest and costs, and other relief. The plaintiff is represented by SML Avvocati P.C.
