Is Belkin within Range for RemoTech’s latest Patent Infringement Claim?

March 30, 2010 - PRLog -- RemoTech has fired off their fifth lawsuit in the past two months. In the complaint filed March 22, 2010 RemoTech is alleging that Belkin International Inc. is infringing their patent 4,809,359 (‘359).

According to the complaint Belkin used, sold or offered for sale products that used patent ‘359, “System for extending the effective operation range of an infrared remote control system.”

The patent in question is assigned to RemoTech and was filed in 1986 and expired in late 2006.

According to the statute  35 U.S.C. 284 and 35 U.S.C. 286, the owner of the patent can still sue for patent infringement if they can prove the infringement occurred while the patent was still in-force. The patent owner only has six years after the patent expiration to file a complaint, and damages a plaintiff is entitled to will decrease as time goes by.

The same day the complaint was filed –March 22– Belkin announced the move of their headquarters from Compton, California to Playa Vista, California. Belkin is a connectivity solutions company best known for developing network solutions and wireless devices.

All parties involved were contacted for comment, none responded by press time.

RemoTech is asking for damages, pre- and post-judgment interest and increased damages up to three times. They are also asking for the court to find Belkin’s infringement “willful and deliberate”.

In late February, RemoTech filed patent infringement, naming the same ‘359 patent. The suit named Lorex Technology, a Canadian video security company as the defendant.

RemoTech also filed two separate complaints against, Araneus USA and AITech on March 2nd, claiming infringement on the ‘359 patent. The next day -March 3rd- they filed again, this time naming IVS as the defendant.

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