On June 10, 2019, Barco filed suit against Vivitek Corporation and its parent company Delta Electronics, Inc. in the United States for infringing Barco’s ClickShare patents via their wireless presentation devices, including the LauncherPlus device and the NovoEnterprise unit.
Barco also filed suit against Sahara Presentation Systems regarding its Clevershare and Clevertouch Pro products.
ClickShare is Barco’s solution for the wireless meeting room experience, it was launched in 2012 as an industry first and is today the market leader with more than 590,000 meeting rooms equipped globally.
Latest step in coordinated program to enforce Barco’s patent rights
Barco’s cases against Vivitek and Sahara are the latest in a coordinated series of actions taken by Barco worldwide to protect its innovative ClickShare technology as well as the significant efforts and investments of its distributors, resellers and other channel partners in commercializing ClickShare. Barco is enforcing its patents against manufacturers and distributors who make, distribute, market, and sell wireless presentation systems copying ClickShare’s original features. Barco believes that Vivitek and Clevertouch make and distribute such wireless devices in multiple global markets.
After a string of successful legal actions in Europe, Barco is now focusing on excluding infringing devices from the U.S. market as well. Barco is well-positioned to enforce its U.S. patents because the novelty and inventiveness of ClickShare technology was recently reaffirmed by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). In March and April of 2019, at the conclusion of a re-examination proceeding, the USPTO reconfirmed two of Barco’s ClickShare patents, upholding ClickShare’s patentability and Barco’s right to enforce its intellectual property rights against those who copy it.
Successes in protecting Barco’s IP
Barco’s program of patent enforcement actions is aimed at stopping infringers and preserving the value of Barco’s investment in ClickShare technology. In 2018, Barco filed patent infringement lawsuits in the Netherlands and Germany against Kindermann for sale of its Klick & Show wireless presentation system, and Delta Electronics for sale of its Vivitek NovoConnect wireless presentation system. Earlier this year, a Dutch court authorized seizure of an infringing wireless presentation system at the Integrated Systems Expo (“ISE”) trade show in Amsterdam. In 2018, a preliminary injunction in Danish courts blocked two distributors from distributing and selling a different infringing wireless presentation system. Before that, in 2017, a Dutch court authorized seizure of yet a third different infringing wireless presentation system at the ISE trade show. Meanwhile, several distributors have ceased the sale of their wireless presentation systems. “These successes demonstrate the strength of Barco’s IP, which we will continue to take all necessary steps to defend,” says Barco General Counsel Kurt Verheggen.
Ongoing vigilance
Barco anticipates more wins – both in court and in the market – in its ongoing fight against infringers.
Because Barco highly values its intellectual property, as well as the significant efforts and investment of its distributors, resellers, and partners to market and sell innovative Barco products like ClickShare, Barco will continue to closely monitor the wireless presentation market and enforce its IP rights.
About Barco
Barco designs technology to enable bright outcomes around the world. Seeing beyond the image, we develop visualization and collaboration solutions to help you work together, share insights, and wow audiences. Our focus is on three core markets: Enterprise (from meeting and control rooms to corporate spaces), Healthcare (from the radiology department to the operating room), and Entertainment (from movie theaters to live events and attractions). In 2018, we realized sales of 1.028 billion euro. We have a global team of 3,600 employees, whose passion for technology is captured in 400 granted patents.
