25
Sep
By Eric Schweibenz
On September 23, 2013, Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. of Japan and Furuno U.S.A., Inc. of Camas, Washington (collectively, “Furuno”) filed a complaint requesting that the ITC commence an investigation pursuant to Section 337.

The complaint alleges that the following entities (collectively, the “Proposed Respondents”) unlawfully import into the U.S., sell for importation, and/or sell within the U.S. after importation certain navigation products, including GPS devices, navigation and display systems, radar systems, navigational aids, mapping systems, and related software that infringe one or more claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,084,565 (the ‘565 patent), 6,424,292 (the ‘292 patent), 7,161,561 (the ‘561 patent), and 7,768,447 (the ‘447 patent) (collectively, the “asserted patents”):

According to the complaint, the asserted patents generally relate to systems, devices, and methods for improving navigation, radar and map displays used in on-road vehicle, marine, and aviation applications.  In particular, the ‘565 patent relates to an image monitoring system capable of displaying a plurality of windows on a single screen and presenting part of an image shown on one window in another window.  The ‘292 patent relates to a display system for radar or similar devices that displays current and past video images on a display.  The ‘561 patent relates to a digital display system with multiple displays that allow users to selectively present one or more images from different measuring devices on each display.  The ‘447 patent relates to a display system for radar or similar devices that redraws a sensed image when a detection range is changed.

In the complaint, Furuno states that the Proposed Respondents import and sell products that infringe the asserted patents.  The complaint specifically refers to various products associated with the Proposed Respondents.

Regarding domestic industry, Furuno states that its NavNet 3D series of products (among others) practice the asserted patents.  Furuno also states that it conducts significant activities in the U.S. relating to the technology of the asserted patents.  Furuno specifically refers to its facilities in Washington and Maryland, and asserts that it has a variety of technical and non-technical personnel in the U.S. performing functions related to the technology of the asserted patents.

As to related litigation, Furuno states that the ‘565 and ‘561 patents were the subject of ITC Inv. No. 337-TA-810, which was terminated in March 2012 based on a settlement agreement.  See our October 28, 2011 post for more details on the 810 investigation.   Furuno also states that it previously asserted the ‘565 and ‘561 patents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon against Honeywell International Inc. and others.  Furuno further states that, contemporaneously with the filing of the instant ITC complaint, it is also asserting the ‘565, ‘292, ‘561, and ‘447 patents against the Proposed Respondents in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

With respect to potential remedy, Furuno requests that the Commission issue a permanent limited exclusion order and permanent cease and desist orders directed at the Proposed Respondents, their subsidiaries, related companies, and agents.



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