Arsus, LLC v. Tesla Motors, Inc.

NPE litigation in the Automotive market sector during the first four months of 2020 was up nearly threefold from the same time period last year. Most recently, 21ST CENTURY GARAGE LLC and Sisvel International S.A. (d/b/a Sisvel Group) have taken aim at companies operating in the sector, but the year so far has seen new campaigns launched by plaintiffs ranging from relatively recent entrants to patent monetization (e.g., Quartz Auto Technologies, LLC) to established players (e.g., Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.à.r.l.), as well as additional cases filed in existing campaigns waged by inventor-controlled Omega Patents, L.L.C. and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild. From wireless connectivity to more traditional automotive technologies, something about 2020 has drawn more litigation to the sector.

Inventor-controlled ARSUS, LLC has filed suit against Tesla (3:20-cv-00313), charging the automaker with infringement of two patents generally related to a vehicle steering control system that limits the steering range to prevent a rollover. The plaintiff targets provision of the Tesla S, X, and Model 3, “equipped with Tesla’s so-called Auto-pilot system”. In November 2019, the Federal Circuit affirmed District of Utah Judge Dee V. Benson’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement to a local BMW dealer, John H. Firmage, Inc. (d/b/a BMW of Murray). In that order, Judge Benson ruled that, even without the benefit of claim construction, the accused BMW system “never actually prevents the vehicle from being steered beyond a rollover threshold at any point” by a driver.