Impinj announced that it has secured two RAIN RFID (radio-frequency identification) patent-infringement lawsuits. A federal jury in California found that NXP Semiconductors infringed two of Impinj’s patents, one willfully.
The jury secured Impinj approximately [$18.5 million (€16.51 million)] in damages and lost profits. In June, a federal jury in Washington found that Impinj did not infringe an NXP patent on which NXP sued Impinj. The cases stem from a patent-infringement lawsuit Impinj filed against NXP’s UCODE products in 2019, after attempting unsuccessfully for nearly two years to resolve without litigation.
The infringed patents include key Impinj endpoint IC (integrated circuit) technologies related to Impinj’s Enduro technology, which provides a IC-to-antenna connection, and harvesting circuitry, which improves RAIN RFID tag sensitivity.
In a letter to partners and customers, Impinj co-founder and CEO Chris Diorio, says “We were disheartened to see a large company copy the patented inventions of a small, innovative company like ours. We take our responsibility to protect our inventions seriously, which is why we felt we had no option but to pursue litigation. We thank the jurors who listened carefully to the evidence, deliberated and delivered their judgments. We are pleased with the outcome and confident in our position in the remaining litigation with NXP.”
“We do not believe this litigation outcome will materially impact ongoing or new RAIN RFID programmes. We do believe that upholding intellectual property rights will encourage more RAIN RFID providers to innovate in the future,” adds Diorio.
Impinj has more than 300 issued and allowed RAIN RFID patents, reflecting investment and inventiveness. Impinj also supports global, royalty-free standards and, in accordance with the GS1 IP (intellectual property) policy, provides reciprocal, royalty-free access to intellectual property necessary to practice the GS1 Gen2 protocol. The patent claims in the trial improve the readability, reliability and manufacturability of RAIN RFID tags and are not necessary to practice Gen2.
“Impinj is committed to free and fair competition and, with our suppliers and partners, to creating and delivering the most advanced RAIN RFID solutions for our enterprise customers,” says Diorio. “As one of the founders and leaders of the RAIN industry, Impinj will continue innovating to advance our market.”
Read the Impinj letter to partners and customers at Impinj.
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