Patent Attorneys Breathe a Sigh of Relief; Finally More Golf GPS Rangefinder Patent Litigation
It is hard to believe it has been almost 1.5 years since I reported on any patent litigation concerning golf GPS rangefinders. Especially in light of the fact that back in 2007-2008 virtually every manufacturer of golf GPS devices was in midst of at least one patent infringement lawsuit. I eventually stopped following the cases because they were sucking me in like quicksand and consuming too much of my time.
Perhaps we are about to see a resurgence in golf GPS litigation. Yesterday a patent infringement complaint was filed by GPS Industries, LLC alleging that Deca International Corp., maker of the GolfBuddy line of products, is infringing USPN /files/22847-21779/20120502_6263279.pdf”>6,263,279. You may review the entire complaint COUNT 1 – PATENT INFRINGEMENT
17. DECA has infringed and continues to directly infringe, either literally or by equivalents, the ‘518 and ‘279 patents by making, using, selling, offering to sell, leasing, importing and/or exporting GPS-based range finders, and contributing to and or inducing infringement of one or more claims of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents.
18. The DECA products that infringe the ‘518 and ‘279 patents include, but are not limited to, its “Golf Buddy” rangefinder product line, including the Golf Buddy Pro, the Golf Buddy Tour, the Golf Buddy World, the Golf Buddy World Platinum, the Golf Buddy Platinum, and the Golf Buddy Voice (collectively referred to herein as the “DECA Rangefinder Systems”).
19. In addition to its direct infringement of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA has infringed and continues to infringe, either literally or by equivalents, the ‘518 and ‘279 patents by actively inducing direct infringement by end-users who purchase and use the aforementioned DECA Rangefinder Systems.
20. Upon information and belief, DECA had actual knowledge of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents prior to the filing of this complaint and as early as December 6, 2010. DECA was sued for the alleged infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,456,938, which identifies on its face both the ‘518 and ‘279 patents. On or about December 6, 2010, DECA was served with a copy of a complaint for patent infringement along with U.S. Patent No. 6,456,938 in connection with the lawsuit styled: SkyHawke Technologies, LLC v. Deca International Corp., No. 3:09-cv-01403-K, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi.
21. Since becoming aware of at least the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA has continued to intentionally, actively, and knowingly both advertise about and sell, or offer to sell, the DECA Rangefinder Systems at least through its own website, www.golfbuddyglobal.com/ .
22. Since becoming aware of at least the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA’s said advertising and sales have intentionally, actively, and knowingly contained and continue to contain instructions, directions, suggestions, and/or invitations that intentionally, actively, and knowingly invite, entice, lead on, influence, prevail on, move by persuasion, cause, and/or influence the public, DECA’s distributors, DECA’s retailers, DECA’s website users, customers, and/or end users to make, use, sell, and/or offer to sell the DECA Rangefinder Systems, and/or use the DECA Rangefinder Systems to practice the inventions claimed in the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, and thus directly infringe these patents, either literally or by equivalents.
23. Since becoming aware of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA was willfully blind, knew, or should have known that its distributors, retailers, website users, customers, and/or end users’ acts relative to making, using, selling, and/or offering to sell the DECA Rangefinder Systems, and/or using the DECA Rangefinder Systems to practice the inventions claimed in the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, directly infringe these patents, either literally or by equivalents. For these reasons, DECA is liable for inducing infringement of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents.
24. The DECA Rangefinder Systems and the components thereof sold, made, operated, and/or serviced by DECA constitute a material part of the inventions claimed in the ‘518 and ‘279 patents and are not staple articles or commodities of commerce suitable for substantial non-infringing use.
25. Since becoming aware of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA was willfully blind, knew, or should have known that the DECA Rangefinder Systems and the components thereof were especially made and/or especially adapted for use in infringing the ‘518 and ‘279 patents.
26. Since becoming aware of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, DECA was willfully blind, knew, or should have known that the DECA Rangefinder Systems and the components thereof were not a staple article or commodity of commerce suitable for substantial noninfringing use.
27. By selling, offering to sell, or importing into the United States the DECA Rangefinder Systems and the components thereof, DECA has contributed to the infringement of distributors, retailers, customers, and/or end-users who sell, offer for sale, purchase, make, and/or use the DECA Rangefinder Systems to practice the inventions claimed in the ‘518 and ‘279 patents, and thus directly infringe these patents, either literally or by the doctrine of equivalents.
28. DECA knew or should have known that its actions would induce or contribute to the direct infringement, either literally or by equivalents, of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents by end users who use the aforementioned DECA Rangefinder Systems.
29. Upon information and belief, DECA provides continuing support services to end-users with the intent of enabling them to practice the methods claimed in the ‘518 and ‘279 patents without a license.
30. By making, using, selling, offering to sell, leasing, importing and/or exporting the DECA Rangefinder Systems, DECA has infringed and continues to infringe, either directly (literally or by equivalents) or indirectly (by inducing infringement or contributory infringement), at least claims 1, 33, and 41 of the ‘518 patent and at least claim 3 of the ‘279 patent.
31. DECA infringes the ‘518 and ‘279 patents either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents.
32. The infringement of the ‘518 and ‘279 patents as alleged above has injured, and continues to injure, GPSi, and GPSi thus is entitled to recover damages adequate to compensate for DECA’s infringement, which in no event can be less than a reasonable royalty.
It seems like just a matter of time before all the smartphone application developers of golf GPS apps find themselves on the receiving end of a patent infringement complaint!
David Dawsey – Keeping an Eye on Golf GPS Patent Infringement