An Eastern District of Texas jury has returned a verdict in favor of SkyBell subsidiary SB IP Holdings LLC against defendant Vivint. The jury found all tried claims—three from two patents broadly directed to communication systems located near a door or “entrance”—infringed and not proven invalid. District Judge Amos L. Mazzant also submitted an eligibility question to the jury, which found none of the tried claims ineligible. Finally, as to damages, the jury was asked, “What sum of money, if any, paid in cash today, has SB IP proven by a preponderance of the evidence would compensate SB IP for its damages resulting from infringement from November 17, 2020 through October 9, 2023?”  

Vivint has filed a pair of complaints (8:22-cv-00033, 8:22-cv-00034) in the Central District of California against SkyBell subsidiary SB IP Holdings LLC, seeking declaratory judgments of invalidity, noninfringement, and unenforceability of 13 patents broadly directed to communication systems located near a door or “entrance”. SB IP has filed two affirmative infringement cases against Vivint’s parent Vivint Smart Home to date, both in the Eastern District of Texas, with Vivint Smart Home accused of infringing the same patents through the provision of various smart home products (e.g., cameras, doorbells, and electronic locks) in each. Meanwhile, SB IP has appealed (22-1354) the dismissal of its December 2020 International Trade Commission (ITC) action, which was terminated in September 2021 after Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Clark S. Cheney granted a motion for summary determination of invalidity of all seven patents asserted.

Recent setbacks in an International Trade Commission (ITC) investigation have not deterred SkyBell subsidiary SB IP Holdings LLC from continuing its litigation campaign over patents held by Eyetalk365, LLC. SB IP Holdings has sued Vivint Smart Home (4:21-cv-00912) in a second Eastern District of Texas complaint, targeting Vivint’s provision of smart home products (including cameras, doorbells, and electronic locks) with six more “entryway management” patents.