Stragent V/s Audi et al.

July 13, 2011: Stragent LLC and Seesaw Foundation (hereinafter plaintiff) have sued Audi,  Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan Motor Co (hereinafter defendants) for a patent infringement suit in the Texas Eastern District Court. This is the second time that the plaintiffs have filed a patent infringement suit against the defendants involving the same set of patents. 


Stragent is a Texas limited liability company based in Longview and Seesaw is a Texas non profit corporation. The patents-in-suit are mentioned below. The three patents are from the same family.


US6285945,(hereinafter '945 patent) entitled "Method and system for controlling vehicle deceleration in an adaptive speed control system based on vehicle speed", assigned to Seesaw. 


US6393352 (hereinafter '352 patent) entitled "Method and system for controlling vehicle deceleration in an adaptive speed control system based on vehicle speed ", assigned to Seesaw.


US6604043 (hereinafter '043 patent) entitled "Method and system for controlling vehicle deceleration in an adaptive speed control system based on vehicle speed", assigned to Seesaw.


The lawsuit mentions that Stragent is the exclusive licensee of the above three patents. A total of three counts of infringement has been filed in the lawsuit. The three counts are provided below:


Count 1


Stragent has alleged that the defendants have been and currently are infringing the '945 patent that is primarily focused on adaptive cruise control systems that bring a vehicle to a complete stop. The '945 patent also discloses mechanisms for varying the speed of a vehicle in stop and go traffic. Stragent asserts that the following products (vehicles) manufactured by the defendants are infringing the '945 patent:


AUDI: 2012 Audi A6, 2011-2012 Audi A7, 2009-2011 Audi Q7 


VOLKSWAGEN: 2009 Volkswagen Passat CC and 2008-2009 Volkswagen Touarge


BMW: 2011 BMW 5 series Sedan, 5 series Touring, 6 series coupe, 6 series convertible, 7 series sedan, 2010 BMW series 7 series sedan, 5 series Gran Turismo and 2009 BMW 7 series sedan


MERCEDES BENZ: Mercedes Benz E350 Sedan, E350 Blue TEC Sedan, E550 Sedan, E350 Coupe, E550 Coupe, E350 Cabriolet, E550 Cabriolet and many other models.


NISSAN: 2009-2010 Infinity FX35/Fx50, 2011 Infinity FX, 2009-2011 Infinity EX35, 2011-2012 Infinity M37/M56 and 2011 Infinity QX.


Stragent has stated that the above listed products infringe claims 1-4 and 8-11 of the '945 patent. Further, Stragent claims that the defendants had knowledge of the '945 patent since April 29, 2010 when Stargent had filed a lawsuit against them. [Stragent V/s Audi in Eastern Texas District court on April 29, 2010]. Stragent asserts that as the defendants were aware of the '945 patent, they are thus liable for willful infringement of the '945 patent as they are manufacturing materials and apparatuses that directly infringe the '945 patent.


Count 2


Stragent has alleged that the defendants have been and currently are infringing the '352 patent that is primarily focused on adaptive cruise control systems that bring a vehicle to a complete stop. The '352 patent also discloses mechanisms for varying the speed of a vehicle in stop and go traffic. Stragent asserts that products (vehicles) manufactured by the defendants are infringing the '352 patent. The products are mainly the same set of products mentioned above and infringe on claims 1-3 and 7-9 of the '352 patent. 


Count 3


Stragent has also alleged that the defendants have been and currently are infringing the '043 patent that is primarily focused on adaptive cruise control systems that bring a vehicle to a complete stop. The '043 patent also discloses mechanisms for varying the speed of a vehicle in stop and go traffic. Stragent asserts that products (vehicles) manufactured by the defendants are infringing the '043 patent. The products are mainly the same set of products mentioned above and infringe on claims 1-2 and 6-7 of the '352 patent.