ADT, a smart home and business security brand, brought actions for patent infringement against Vivint, a security and alarm company headquartered in Provo, Utah. Separate but related actions have been filed with the U.S. International Trade Commission and in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.
Vivint has introduced and promoted a series of products willfully infringing upon several of ADT’s patents, the complaint asserts. These patents cover ADT’s investments and innovations in smart home integration, data collection, and control panel functions and interfaces, among other capabilities and features. Specifically, according to the complaint, Vivint products including the Vivint Home Security System, SkyControl Panel and Vivint Smart Hub violate U.S. Patents No. 8,976,937 and No. 9,286,772, belonging to ADT.
“Vivint launched its SkyControl Panel and related products with the express desire, in the words of its former CEO, to ‘control anything and everything inside the home,’” said David W. Smail, ADT’s executive vice president and chief legal officer. “Apparently Vivint also meant ‘by any means necessary.’”
Smail continued, “To gain an unfair advantage in the smart home security and automation market, where ADT has long been a pioneer and continues to lead, Vivint infringes ADT’s patents covering, among other things, predictive analytics, detection and diagnostics, and advanced user interfaces including voice control. By defending its robust patent portfolio, ADT is determined to protect its employees, its customers, its products, and its reputation. We are asking the Commission for an exclusion order prohibiting Vivint from importing products infringing on our patents, and we are asking the court for a finding of infringement along with appropriate damages, fees, and other relief.”
ADT recently filed a complaint against Ring, Amazon’s smart home security company, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and related violations. Additionally, ADT has sued Vivint in the past for deceptive sales practices.
ADT is SDM’s 2017 Dealer of the Year. Vivint was awarded Dealer of the Year in 2011.
SDM will update this story as it develops.
