Elite Brands Sued for Patent Infringement

Plaintiff DigiMedia Tech, LLC filed a patent infringement complaint against Elite Brands Inc. (Elite) for the defendant’s allegedly improper use of three of its patents relating to digital camera technology. Tuesday’s Southern District of New York filing accuses Elite of using the patented technology in its digital cameras, like the Bell+Howell B35HDz model, as depicted in an exhibit. 

According to the complaint, the plaintiff is a Georgia limited liability company with its principal office in Alpharetta. Reportedly, Elite is a New York-based and incorporated company. The filing explains that DigiMedia is the owner, by assignment, of the patents entitled, “Microminiature Zoom System for Digital Camera,” (the ’635 patent), “System, Method and Article of Manufacture for Tracking a Head of a Camera-Generated Image of a Person” (the ’476 patent), and a third entitled the same as the ‘476 patent (the ’706 patent).

The ’635 patent claims concern “technical solutions to the technical problem of providing zoom, autofocus, and other features to increasingly compact digital cameras.” The solutions also enable features like anti-shake and image stabilization, partly using a “micro-electromechanical system support mechanism.”

The ’476 and ’706 patent claims are “directed to technical solutions to the technical problem of how to identify a head in an image,” which assists in focusing a digital camera. The complaint explains that because many camera users are unfamiliar with how to manually focus a camera, and because “many photographs are candid shots of moving subjects,” the problem calls for technical solutions which the ’476 and ‘706 patents provide.

According to the filing, Elite has been and is “making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/ or importing products that incorporate one or more of the inventions claimed.” For its alleged transgressions, DigiMedia seeks a jury trial and declaratory relief, damages, and an award of its attorneys’ fees and costs.

DigiMedia is represented by Kent & Risley LLC.

Article Source: https://lawstreetmedia.com/tech/intellectual-property/elite-brands-sued-for-patent-infringement/