Alarm.com, iControl, Telular end patent infringement cases

YARMOUTH, Maine—Patent infringement lawsuits involving Alarm.com, iControl Networks and Telular have all been dismissed, the companies announced this week.

Alarm.com and iControl Networks announced Jan. 14 that settlements have been reached in patent infringement suits involving those two companies.

And Telular announced the same day that an Alarm.com lawsuit against Telular has been dismissed with prejudice.

The two cases are related, Jay Kenny, VP of marketing for Alarm.com, an interactive services provider based in Vienna, Va., told Security Systems News in an email interview.

He said the dismissal of the Alarm.com v. Telular lawsuit came about because of a settlement agreement in separate litigation between Alarm.com and iControl, which resulted in a cross-licensing agreement between the two companies. Telular uses the services of iControl, a Redwood City, Calif.-based home technology provider, so “Telular benefits from the cross-licensing agreement,” Kenny said. 

He told SSN that “the settlement includes iControl technology subscribers, like Telular, and allows them access to patents covered under the cross-licensing agreement whether they license either iControl or Alarm.com technology.”

Shawn Welsh, VP of marketing and business development for Telular, told SSN in an email statement: “We are unaware of the details of the iControl-Alarm.com lawsuit. We can only reiterate our pleasure with the dismissal of the Alarm.com lawsuit against Telguard HomeControl and Telguard Interactive.”

Telular is a Chicago-based wireless communication provider whose security products and services division is branded as Telguard, which bills itself as a leader in alarm monitoring and interactive services.

In May, Alarm.com filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Telular in federal court in Delaware—where both companies are incorporated. Alarm.com alleged that products and services such as Telguard HomeControl and Telguard Interactive services infringed on its patents. 

Court records show that both companies stipulated Jan. 9 that the lawsuit would be dismissed, with each side bearing its own costs, expenses and attorney's fees. The case was closed “with prejudice,” a legal term meaning the filing party, in this case Alarm.com, can't bring the case again.

Telular said in a news release that the dismissal means “Telguard may continue marketing its HomeControl home automation products.”

And Welsh said in a prepared statement: “Telguard's customers have long valued both our internal innovation and strong partnerships, and we are pleased that the dismissal of this lawsuit will not disrupt our customers from benefitting from the broad range of home automation solutions enabled by our HomeControl platform.”

Litigation between Alarm.com and iControl began last summer, when iControl sued Alarm.com and its customer, FrontPoint Security, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging the companies infringed on six of its patents for monitoring and controlling security systems.

Now, however, Alarm.com and iControl announced this week that they've settled all litigation between them, “including litigation involving Telular Corp. and FrontPoint Security.”

In the settlement, Alarm.com and iControl agreed on a cross-licensing agreement that allows the companies to retain ownership and rights to their respective patents, while expanding their portfolios of licensed intellectual property in certain agreements, the companies said in a news release.

Patents for some of the earliest seminal connected home technology are subject to the cross-license agreement, according to the statement.

Kenny told SSN: “Alarm.com is pleased to recognize the strength of our intellectual property through this cross-licensing agreement.”