Earlier this week, Motorola Solutions filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) seeking to bar the importation and sale of products by Verkada that it alleges infringe upon patents held by its subsidiary Avigilon.
Specifically, Motorola says that Verkada’s Dome Series, Mini Series, Bullet Series, Fisheye Series, and D-Series cameras, along with their related software products infringe upon three of Avigilon’s patents, including:
- U.S. Patent No. 7,868,912 (the ‘912 Patent): “Video Surveillance System Employing Video Primitives.” According to the complaint, the “’912 Patent generally is directed to a video security system that, for example, monitors a location for security purposes. The patented technology can, among other things, reduce the amount of video surveillance data and improve analysis of that data.”
- U.S. Patent No. 10,726,312 (the ‘312 Patent): “System and Method for Appearance Search.” This patent pertains to “identifying objects of interest in video within a video security system. The patented technology can, among other things, improve the effectiveness and efficiency of object identification in video.”
- U.S. Patent No. 8,508,607 (the ‘607 Patent): “Method and System for a Programmable Camera for Configurable Security and Surveillance Systems.” This patent covers “programmable cameras for configurable security systems. The patented technology can, among other things, result in more effectively and/or efficiently integrated security and surveillance systems.”
“Rather than compete fairly in the market, since its founding, Verkada has consistently relied on and incorporated features and technological advances protected by Complainants’ intellectual property,” the complaint reads. “For example, after receiving criticism from the industry that its systems lacked many of the analytics features that Avigilon pioneered, including Appearance Search, Verkada incorporated the same functionality in its own ‘People Analytics.’ Just like Avigilon’s earlier-developed and patented Appearance Search technology, Verkada’s allegedly ‘game-changing People Analytics is ‘built on AI’ and enables users to search and filter based on several different appearance attributes, ‘including gender traits, clothing color, and even a person’s face.’”
In a statement provided to SecurityInfoWatch.com (SIW), Motorola Solutions said it filed the complaint in order to protect its technology.
“As set forth in the complaint, we believe these patents are infringed by Verkada’s products that implement Verkada’s hybrid edge computing, firmware update functionality, or ‘people analytics’ for searching based on appearance attributes,” the statement read. “At Motorola Solutions, we have invested extensively to deliver cutting-edge video security and analytics solutions to our customers around the world and across industries. On behalf of our customers, shareholders, employees, partners and other stakeholders, we will continue to defend our intellectual property and investments in innovation.”
A spokesperson for Verkada told SIW that the company contests the claims laid out in the complaint and that they plan to "vigorously defend" themselves against the allegations.
"It is not surprising to see this type of litigation, which is commonly faced by many successful technology companies – particularly those pushing the boundaries of what has historically been offered in a product category. Verkada was founded to reimagine our industry and deliver to customers cutting edge, integrated hardware and software that is easy-to-use and highly scalable. This fresh take on a traditional space disrupted established players who have not been able to match the same type of seamless experience that has helped us grow," the statement read. "We greatly value and respect intellectual property. However, we do not believe this lawsuit has merit and plan to vigorously defend our rights and technologies. In the meantime, our focus will continue to be on serving our customers and designing, building, and shipping the market-leading and innovative products that customers love."
About the Author:
Joel Griffin is the Editor of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].
