NavBlazer, LLC v. TomTom North America Inc. et al

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.

Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) (6:20-cv-00100) and TomTom (6:20-cv-00112) have become the latest defendants in the new campaign launched last week by NavBlazer, LLC over two GPS vehicle navigation patents. Suits against Apple, LG Electronics (LGE), and Samsung remain active, with NavBlazer targeting all of the defendants in the Western District of Texas over the provision of devices equipped with GPS and road navigation apps that account for traffic conditions (i.e., for Apple, various iPhones and iPads together with Apple Maps; for Lenovo, LGE, and Samsung, various Android mobile devices with the Google Maps app; and for TomTom, GPS devices, in-dash software and hardware, and mobile apps that incorporate navigation features).

NavBlazer, LLC has filed separate Western District of Texas lawsuits against Apple (6:20-cv-00085), LG Electronics (LGE) (6:20-cv-00095), and Samsung (6:20-cv-00089), each complaint asserting both members of a two-patent family generally related to GPS vehicle navigation. The defendants are accused of infringement through the provision of mobile devices equipped with GPS and apps that account for traffic conditions when providing navigation guidance (i.e., for Apple, various iPhones and iPads together with Apple Maps; and for Samsung and LGE, various mobile device series, each together with the Google Maps app). While these suits are the first for NavBlazer, they are not the first for the inventor behind the plaintiff; Raymond Anthony Joao is no stranger to the assertion of patents in federal court.