Alarm.com (NASDAQ: ALRM) has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Vivint Smart Home (NYSE: VVNT). In it the company alleges that Vivint is violating 15 patents with its smart home platform. Specifically the suit names Vivint Doorbell Camera, Doorbell Camera Pro, Outdoor Camera Pro, Indoor Camera, Car Guard, Sky Control and Smart Hub as having functions that violate Alarm.com’s patents.
The 76-page civil lawsuit (Alarm.com vs. Vivint) (Case No. 2:23-cv-00004), which was filed by Alarm.com (ADC) and ICN Acquisition in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, on January 4, 2023, asks for a jury trial, an order requiring Vivint to pay an ongoing royalty to Alarm.com of an yet-to-be-determined amount, enhanced damages for up to three times the actual damages, plus attorney’s fees.
Alarm.com Lawsuit Alleges Vivint Success Was Built on the Back of Trade Secrets
The companies’ history with one another dates to 2007 when Vivint became an Alarm.com dealer. During that time, according to the lawsuit, Vivint sold smart home and security packages using Alarm.com’s backend platform that takes the data collected from sensors and cameras in the home and communicates those conditions via a mobile app to users.
The app then allows touchscreen controls of Vivint panels and networked monitoring components. It also uses GPS technology to provide location-based alerts. The lawsuit says that Vivint then became a “significant” Alarm.com dealer and was made privy to trade secrets and other confidential information.
In 2014, Vivint launched its own platform dubbed Vivint Sky, later renamed to Vivint Smart Home. The lawsuit says, “Vivint has a long history of misappropriating ADC’s technology.” It further states “Vivint has continued to copy ADC’s innovations and incorporate them into the Vivint Backend.”
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In the lawsuit, Alarm.com claims much of Vivint’s success is due to Alarm.com sharing its trade secrets and patented technology in 2009 to enable Vivint to launch its Go!Control panel, which was manufactured for the company by 2GIG based on specifications provided by the company.
The lawsuit states:
“With access to ADC’s technology, Vivint began secretly developing a competing backend. Because Vivint ‘developed’ its backend using ADC’s technology, Vivint understood that if it wished to enter the market with its copy of ADC’s protected backend technology it would need to obtain both a license to ADc patents and a convenant that ADT would not sue for Vivint’s misappropriation of ADC’s intellectual property. Rather than facing costly litigation over its new product, with the prospect of high royalty and/or damages payments or even an injunction preventing it from marketing the Vivint Backend, Vivint concluded that it made business sense for it to enter into a licensing agreement with ADC. In this context, the parties entered into a patent cross-licensing agreement in late 2013, which gave Vivint a license to ADC’s existing patents and certain later-issued patents. This agreement enabled Vivint to enter the market with its copycat backend.”
In 2022, Vivint reportedly informed Alarm.com that it would be discontinuing the payment of its licensing fees.
For each of the alleged patent violations, the lawsuit states:
“ADC has been damaged and will continue to suffer damages in the future. ADC is entitled to recover for damages, including in the form of lost profits and/or a reasonable royalty sustained as a result of Vivint’s wrongful acts in an amount yet to be determined and to receive such other and further relief, including equitable relief, as this Court deems just and proper.”
This article originally appeared on our sister site Security Sales & Integration on January 12, 2023. It has since been updated for CE Pro audiences.
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