Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Beacon Navigation GmbH vs. Audi and Other Automobile Manufacturers



Date Filed: Mar 29, 2013

Court: Michigan Eastern District Court

Judge: Patrick J. Duggan

Case Type: Patent Infringement 

Case Summary: In a new lawsuit (2:13-cv-11405), Beacon Navigation GmbH has sued Audi for infringing three patents: US Patent No.: 6374180, 6178380 and 6029111. All these patents generally relate to a navigation or route guidance system.

Patent information is as follows:
  • US6374180 entitled ‘Points of interest for a navigation system’ is currently assigned* to Beacon Navigation. The patent was issued on Apr 16, 2002 and expires+ by Sep 18, 2020.
  • US6178380 entitled ‘Street identification for a map zoom of a navigation system’ is currently assigned* to Beacon Navigation. The patent was issued on Jan 23, 2001 and expires+ by Oct 22, 2018.
  • US6029111 entitled ‘Vehicle navigation system and method using GPS velocities’ is currently assigned* to Beacon Navigation. The patent was issued on Feb 22, 2000 and expires+ by Dec 28, 2015.
Complaint says that defendant Audi manufactures cars that incorporate GPS navigation systems including Audi Q7 that embodies a material part of the invention claimed in the above patents. 

Beacon has also filed substantially similar cases on the same day against Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW), Honda Motor, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia Motors, Mazda Motor, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan Motor. 

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* MaxVal offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.
+  Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.




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