On Monday, Display Technologies, LLC filed a complaint against PaeDae, Inc., doing business as Gimbal, for patent infringement alleging that the defendant infringed the patent-in-suit in its Gimbal product, which includes a location based marketing and advertising platform.
The patent-in-suit is United States Patent No. 9,300,723 (the ’723 patent), entitled “Enabling social interactive wireless communications.” According to the complaint, the defendant infringed the ’723 patent by “making, using, and/or selling media systems covered by one or more claims of the ’723 Patent.” Specifically, the plaintiff claimed the defendant’s Gimbal Proximity marketing system used the patented methods.
In particular, Gimbal has purportedly infringed at least claim 1 of the patent-in-suit, because “the Product is configured for customers to receive a media file (e.g. notification or offer) by a media terminal (e.g. smartphone) from a media node (e.g. Bluetooth beacon) over a communication network (e.g. wireless network) through a communication link.” Moreover, the plaintiff added that the product has a “media terminal in an accessible relation to at least one interactive computer network” and “a wireless range structured to permit authorized access to said at least one interactive computer network.” For instance, the product reportedly “detects a smartphone … in range of Bluetooth signals,” then “the Bluetooth signals detect the smartphone when the smartphone is within a certain wireless range. When within the wireless range, the smartphone can access the wireless network.”
For example, the complaint argued fact that “marketers can store promotional information within the server (media node) which is pushed to the media terminal (smartphone) when the app is residing within the smartphone (media terminal) detects the network,” shows that the product uses the plaintiff’s patent.
Display Technologies contended that Gimbal’s product allows for an app to detect a beacon and then connect to a network. As noted in the patent, the smartphone reportedly commences the communication link when it or the app detects the Bluetooth signal and joins the network. The complaint also explains other ways that the defendant purportedly infringed the ’723 patent. As a result of using these features and methods, Display Technologies alleged that Gimbal has infringed the patent-in-suit.
The plaintiff, represented by SML Avvocati P.C., sought a declaratory judgment, for the defendants to be enjoined by the court, an award for damages, interest, and other costs.
