Alarm.com and iControl Networks settle patent dispute

Alarm.com and iControl Networks announced on Tuesday that they have settled and dismissed all patent infringement lawsuits between the two companies, including litigation involving Telular and FrontPoint Security. In addition, the companies have also reached a cross-licensing agreement that will allow them to use each other’s intellectual property.

Last May, Alarm.com filed a lawsuit against Telular, claiming that the company’s Telguard HomeControl home automation platform, which uses iControl Networks’ OpenHome software, infringed upon several patents held by the company. Two months later, iControl subsequently filed a lawsuit against Alarm.com and one of its customers, FrontPoint Security, claiming that they were selling products that infringed upon their patents.

According to Jay Kenny, vice president of marketing for Alarm.com, the resolution of this patent dispute between the companies means that their respective customers can move forward without being concerned about potential litigation.  

“I think of one of the things (the settlement) means is that it recognizes the strength of our intellectual property, so in the cross-licensing agreement both Alarm.com and iControl retain ownership to all of their rights and intellectual property and we’ve cross-licensed the right to each other to use that intellectual property,” said Kenny “For our dealers, I think it means that Alarm.com is in a position to stay focused on building new technology and our dealers and partners can feel confident in the use of the Alarm.com platform and not have to worry about pending litigation or any of those concerns.”  

A spokeswoman for iControl said that the company’s executives would not be commenting on this news.

Despite the potential ramifications of the lawsuits, Kenny said that Alarm.com has remained focused on conducting business as usual. “It has really been something between the lawyers to figure out and I think we were confident in our intellectual property, so we stay focused on our core business and let our legal team focus on that aspect,” he added.

Kenny also believes that this settlement is a positive for both companies. “It (includes) a lot of the earliest, most seminal intellectual property around today’s connected home… and enables both companies and our customers, dealers and technology partners to go out and really continue to build the best connected home solution,” he said.