Patent Armory Inc. has launched what appears to be its first litigation, suing LG Electronics (LGE) (6:23-cv-00326) and OnePlus (6:23-cv-00327) in the Western District of Texas; Samsung (2:23-cv-00199) in the Eastern District of Texas; and Seek Thermal (1:23-cv-00498) and Teledyne Technologies (Teledyne FLIR) (1:23-cv-00497) in the District of Delaware. The plaintiff asserts two patents in overlapping sets, each generally related to sensors on mobile devices. The defendants are targeted over the provision of devices that are able to detect infrared radiation (IR): for LGE, smartphones and tablets that incorporate a gesture recognition sensor; for OnePlus, smartphones equipped with the “Color Filter” camera module; for Samsung, smartphones and tablets that include iris-scanning sensors and/or IR cameras; and for Seek Thermal and Teledyne Flir, thermal imaging cameras capable of being connected to smartphones.
The earlier of the asserted patents (8,275,413) issued in November 2012 with estimated priority in November 2011, based on the filing of a provisional application. It generally relates to a smartphone with a non-contact temperature sensor, while the second patent (8,825,112) describes the device as including a sensor that can measure electromagnetic radiation, including thermal/infrared radiation to sense temperature. The ‘112 patent issued in September 2014 with an estimated priority date in February of that year. Both patents name Jacob Fraden and David Pintsov as inventors. LGE, OnePlus, and Samsung are accused of infringing both patents, while Seek Thermal and Teledyne FLIR are accused over only the ‘413 patent.
Patent Armory acquired the patents in January 2023 from Fraden Family Trust, an entity for which Fraden and Irena Fraden (his apparent spouse) signed as trustees. Fraden and Pintsov are both quoted in press releases and interviews that seemingly refer to the patented invention, described there as covering a smartphone that can sense temperature and as developed under the banner of Fraden’s Fraden Corp. The website for Fraden Corp. now primarily covers Fraden himself and his inventions, also describing him as the cofounder of Thermoscan, a “producer of IR ear thermometers”, as well as a writer, painter, and storyteller, including as the Russian-language narrator of recordings of his own stories.
Patent Armory itself was registered in Ontario, Canada in February 2015, with Greg Benoit listed in Canadian corporate records as the company’s sole director. Benoit describes himself on social media as having served as Patent Armory’s “Principal Consultant” since February 2015 and as the president of Cedar Lane Technologies Inc., an NPE that has litigated one of the largest campaigns, having hit over 330 defendants since May 2019. Cedar Lane has followed a file-and-settle approach, very few of its cases extending beyond the pleadings stage. More than 50 patents, of disparate subject matter but all received from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV), have been asserted, against companies in various industries, albeit with a concentration around products and services that involve image processing, in complaints filed in a wide variety of federal districts.
Phillips, McLaughlin & Hall, P.A. filed the Delaware complaints on the plaintiff’s behalf, and Rabicoff Law LLC, the Texas complaints. The case against Samsung has been assigned to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, the other suits having yet to be assigned to a judge. 5/5, Samsung, Eastern District of Texas; 5/5, LGE, OnePlus, Western District of Texas; 5/8, Seek Thermal, Teledyne FLIR, District of Delaware.
Editor's Note: This article was updated after publication to reflect the filing of litigation against Seek Thermal and Teledyne FLIR.
