ObjectVideo Drops ITC case against Samsung Techwin
Just one day before a July 18, 2012 trial, ObjectVideo dropped its patent infringement case against Samsung Techwin and Samsung Opto-Electronics America in the International Trade Commission (ITC). The patents in suit dealt with video analytic software for security camera systems, such as virtual tripwire technology, and included US patent numb...
ObjectVideo Drops ITC case against Samsung Techwin
Just one day before a July 18, 2012 trial, ObjectVideo dropped its patent infringement case against Samsung Techwin and Samsung Opto-Electronics America in the International Trade Commission (ITC). The patents in suit dealt with video analytic software for security camera systems, such as virtual tripwire technology, and included US patent numbers 6,696,945; 6,970,083; and 7,424,175 (the '175).
The case was originally filed in June 2011 against three Respondent groups: Samsung Techwin, Bosch, and Sony. Sony settled in February 2012 and the trial against Bosch began on July 18, 2012. ObjectVideo has also more recently filed a separate ITC action against Pelco on the same patents, and has approached the entire security camera industry about licensing its patent portfolio.
The Samsung Techwin dismissal follows some recent setbacks in ObjectVideo's case. Last month, the Administrative Law Judge dismissed the '175 patent allegations against Samsung Techwin. Then on July 6 , the Office of Unfair Import Investigations' Staff Attorney formally agreed with Samsung Techwin in a court filing that Samsung did not infringe the remaining patents asserted against it, and that these patents were invalid. Within a week of the Staff Attorney's submission, ObjectVideo dropped the remaining patents against Samsung.
"We are very happy that the Staff Attorney and now ObjectVideo has apparently realized what we have been saying all along, that our products do not infringe ObjectVideo's patents," commented a spokesman of Samsung Techwin's Intellectual Property Department. "We respect the intellectual property of others, but we do not pay unnecessary license fees simply to avoid litigation. That is why we decided to litigate this case and this outcome vindicates our company principles," he added.
Samsung Receives No License from ObjectVideo in ITC Case
ObjectVideo announced the filing of an unopposed motion to terminate Samsung from an ongoing United States International Trade Commission (USITC) investigation. Samsung Techwin received a very limited covenant not to sue on current Samsung products in the United States marketplace. This release provides more detail with respect to the termination of the USITC investigation.
The covenant applied to only three of ObjectVideo's 47 awarded U.S. and international patents. The covenant does not cover the full suite of ObjectVideo patented technology, current or pending. Further, the covenant does not cover any new Samsung products. In short, Samsung does not have a license to any ObjectVideo intellectual property (IP).
"This is a covenant which covers a very small subset of Samsung products as of June 30, 2011. As the case more fully developed, we realized that Samsung actually had very primitive and inaccurate video analytics capabilities," said Raul Fernandez, ObjectVideo CEO. "When Samsung legitimately invents -- or, inevitably finds it is unable to compete with market leaders who have legitimately invented or licensed our IP or our software -- we would welcome having additional business discussions."
In addition to its thriving software business, ObjectVideo has, since the beginning of 2012, won nearly $30M in strategic R&D Services government business and signed portfolio-wide IP license agreements with Sony, Tyco Security and VIVOTEK. Additional IP deals will be announced in the coming months.