Activision Takes on Mazda over Patent Infringement

Los Angeles – Car manufacturer Mazda Motor of America, Inc. was hit with a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Delaware on July 9, when Activision TV, Inc. filed a complaint alleging patent infringement.

Activision, a Delaware Corporation, claims that Mazda infringed its patents for electronic displays in its new line of vehicles.  The patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,369,058 and 8,330,613 are both titled “Remote Control Electronic Display System” and were granted in 2008 and 2012, respectively.  Activision develops flat-screen displays with computers fully integrated into the screen.

The allegedly infringing use has to do with Mazda’s “digital signage systems” which are located in its car dealerships across the country.  Mazda is a Japanese-based car manufacturing company with American headquarters in Irvine, California.

Activision claims that it notified Mazda of the infringement on February 7 and claims that all continued use of the infringing technology beyond that date constitutes willful infringement.  It argues that such willful infringement entitles the company to payment of enhanced damages by Mazda.

In the complaint, the company claims that it suffered irreparable injury from Mazda’s infringement, which can only be remedied by a court injunction.

Activision has been on a tear in district court as of late, bringing patent infringement lawsuits against Harley-Davidson, Inc., CenturyLink, Inc., and Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. all in the past month.  All of the related cases claim patent infringement for the same two patents, Nos. ‘058 and ‘613, which are also  named in the case against Mazda.  While the lawsuits against Harley-Davidson and Build-A-Bear were filed in Delaware, the case against CenturyLink will proceed in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas.

Mazda claims that it obtained the infringing technology from a supplier not affiliated with the company, and would expect Activision to resolve its claims with the supplier directly.

This is not the only patent infringement claim currently pending against Mazda.  The automaker was named along with other major American automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan North America, Inc. and Ford Motor Co. in a patent infringement lawsuit by Rydex Ltd. in 2011.  That lawsuit is now pending in Federal Circuit court.

Activision is demanding a jury trial as well as judgment against Mazda that includes payment of damages and legal fees.