Optimum Imaging Technologies LLC v. Canon Inc.

On December 22, 2020, Canon (1:20-cv-01238) filed suit in the Western District of Texas against Optimum Imaging Technologies LLC, seeking a declaratory judgment of unenforceability of a newly issued patent based on allegations of inequitable conduct before the Patent Office. Canon alleges that the named inventor of the patent improperly represented both that the abandonment of an earlier, related application was unintentional and that the failure to pay related fees was due to “economic constraints”, in response to which the USPTO revived that application. Those representations, according to Canon, render unenforceable the newly issued patent, as well as two others, which Canon addressed in a December 29, 2020 amended complaint in the same case.

Inventor-controlled Optimum Imaging Technologies LLC has filed suit against Canon (2:19-cv-00246) over the provision of certain cameras and camcorders, including EOS series cameras, PowerShot series cameras, the VIXIA HF G50 camcorder, and the XA20 camcorder. At issue is the “lens aberration correction” feature included in the software of the devices, with two patents—generally related to in-camera systems for filtering and correcting distortions—asserted.