Finnegan Secures Third Straight Victory for BMW Group Against Patent Assertion Entity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC—Finnegan is thrilled to announce that firm client BMW Group secured a zero-dollar resolution in Arigna Technology Limited’s assertion of patent infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,049,850 (“the ’850 patent”) in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

In 2021 Arigna, a Patent Assertion Entity related to Atlantic IP Services Ltd., filed suit against a broad swath of the automotive industry in multiple District Courts and at the ITC. Believing that it should not have to take a license to the four Arigna patents asserted against BMW Group (including the ’850 patent) that are both uninfringed and invalid, BMW Group is the only automaker that has refused to accede to Arigna’s demands.

In response to Arigna’s initial attempt to assert the ’850 patent in the Eastern District of Texas, BMW Group brought a declaratory judgement action in the E.D.V.A. on the same underlying accusations of infringement after Judge Gilstrap dismissed the original case for lack of venue. In this declaratory judgement action, Finnegan successfully showed Arigna that its infringement theory was directed to a prior art product, which would render the asserted ’850 patent invalid. Defeated, Arigna pulled its infringement allegations and issued a royalty-free covenant never to sue BMW Group again on the asserted ’850 patent.

According to BMW Group’s Vice President of Intellectual Property, Reinhold Diener, “the BMW Group has successfully fought off multiple lawsuits brought by patent assertion entities without paying them any money.” Reflecting on the BMW Group’s most recent successes against Arigna, he further stated: “we now watch our long-term strategy pay off for the BMW Group, and we will not deviate from our way of handling meritless patent assertion litigation.”

This represents the third straight success for BMW Group in cases brought by Atlantic IP entities, including besting Arigna on a different patent at the International Trade Commission and forcing Scramoge Technology LTD to grant a zero-dollar walkaway:

• https://www.finnegan.com/en/firm/news/finnegan-and-bmw-successfully-dismantle-non-practicing-entitys-efforts.html
• https://www.finnegan.com/en/firm/news/finnegan-secures-itc-win-on-behalf-of-bmw.html

Contacts:
Erika H. Arner, Managing Partner
erika.arner@finnegan.com

Anand K. Sharma, Chair
anand.sharma@finnegan.com

About Finnegan
Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP is one of the largest IP law firms in the world. From offices in Atlanta, Boston, London, Munich, Palo Alto, Reston, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Washington, DC, the firm practices European, German, UK, and U.S. IP law. In addition to services related to all aspects of patent, trademark, and copyright law, including counseling, prosecution, licensing, and litigation, Finnegan provides counseling and litigation services in advertising, privacy, and a wide spectrum of additional IP-adjacent commercial matters, including trade secrets, international trade, the Internet, e-commerce, government contracts, antitrust, and unfair competition. For additional information on the firm, please visit www.finnegan.com and follow us on LinkedIn