Omnitracs, Platform Science IP lawsuit may have reached the end of the road

The long-running intellectual property dispute between technology providers Omnitracs and Platform Science has potentially come to an end. A California federal court issued a clear ruling on Dec. 23 denying Omnitracs’ requests for a retrial and overturned the jury’s previous decisions including a right to $19.3 million in damages.

It remains unclear whether Omnitracs will appeal, as the judge not only canceled the $19.3 million verdict but also conditionally ruled under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(c)(1) that if the cancellation were overturned, a new trial should be held to reexamine the case.

This legal battle began in May 2020 when Omnitracs accused Platform Science of stealing its intellectual property. Omnitracs alleged that Platform Science had developed its Connected Vehicle Platform and other products by using patented innovations that Omnitracs had created. The four patents covered technologies such as wireless data transfer, fleet management systems and onboard computing devices.

The case went to trial, and in July 2024, the jury delivered a mixed verdict. It found that Platform Science had infringed on one patent (U.S. Patent No. 6,925,308), which relates to logistics software for fleet management. The jury awarded Omnitracs $19.3 million in damages. However, the jury found that Platform Science had not infringed on the other three patents. The court had dismissed one of those patent claims before the jury reached its decision.

The recent December ruling — delivered by U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California— comes after Platform Science pushed back against the verdict, arguing that its products did not infringe on the fleet management patent and that the award for damages was excessive. The company also noted that the jury included damages for a period after the patent in question had expired in 2022, calling the calculation improper.

Omnitracs also asked the court to revisit the non-infringement findings for two patents and requested a retrial on previously dismissed patent claims. Omnitracs also asked the court to revisit the $19.3 million damages awarded to ensure the amount reflected all legally permissible damages for the infringement.

The court upheld the original jury’s findings. Omnitracs’ request to revisit the non-infringement verdicts for two patents and its push for a new trial on damages were denied. The court explained that Platform Science’s Connected Vehicle Device required manual configuration to work with different vehicle communication systems, directly contradicting Omnitracs’ claim that the device automatically adapted to such systems.

Similarly, the court dismissed Omnitracs’ claims regarding another patent, finding the evidence insufficient. Omnitracs had attempted to introduce new arguments midtrial, but the court deemed this unfair and prejudicial to Platform Science.

This ruling is a significant win for Platform Science, as it successfully defended itself against Omnitracs’ allegations. For Omnitracs, the decision highlights the challenges of proving patent infringement in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

It remains to be seen whether Omnitracs will appeal the decision. FreightWaves has reached out to Omnitracs for comment. Platform Science has declined to comment.

Articles by Grace Sharkey

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