A federal judge in California granted summary judgment to Erise client Garmin International in a patent dispute with Philips, a global electronics leader, regarding wearable fitness trackers.
Philips first sued Garmin in July 2019; it alleged that Garmin’s fitness trackers infringed two patents covering technology relating to GPS, athletic training and security mechanisms for the transmission of personal data. In August 2019, Garmin filed counterclaims that argued the asserted patents were not anticipated or obvious.
As Law360 reported, last week, Judge Andre Birotte Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California issued an order granting Erise’s client summary judgment on several issues that dispose of the case in its entirety:
- He invalidated one of the patents held by Philips, U.S. Patent No. 9,801,542, finding two claims were already described in prior art.
- He held that Garmin did not infringe Philips’ other patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,277,377, finding there was “no direct evidence that anyone performed the claimed steps using the accused watches.”
The Erise team includes Michelle Marriott and Hunter Horton.