DCT

2:25-cv-00123

H2 Intellect LLC v. Home Depot Inc

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Key Events
Amended Complaint

I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information

  • Parties & Counsel:
  • Case Identification: 2:25-cv-00123, E.D. Tex., 12/12/2025
  • Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas because Defendants operate numerous retail store locations, constituting a regular and established place of business within the district.
  • Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s mobile application features, such as "Store Mode" and "Curbside Pickup," and employee-used mobile devices infringe patents related to systems for delivering location-based content within specific geographic areas.
  • Technical Context: The technology at issue involves geofencing, where a mobile device's entry into a predefined geographic area triggers the delivery of specific digital content, a central feature in modern retail mobile strategies for enhancing in-store and on-premise customer experiences.
  • Key Procedural History: The complaint alleges that Defendants received actual notice of the patents-in-suit via a prior complaint filed by the Plaintiff on August 22, 2024, a fact which forms the basis for the allegation of willful infringement.

Case Timeline

Date Event
2009-05-01 Earliest Priority Date for all Asserted Patents
2013-04-30 U.S. Patent No. 8,433,296 Issued
2015-03-10 U.S. Patent No. 8,977,247 Issued
2016-03-15 U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 Issued
2017-11-28 Date of article describing Home Depot's use of geofencing
2020-11-03 Date of article describing Home Depot's curbside pickup geofencing
2024-08-22 Plaintiff filed original complaint, providing Defendant actual notice
2025-12-12 First Amended Complaint Filed

II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 8,977,247 - "Exclusive Delivery of Content Within Geographic Areas"

The Invention Explained

  • Problem Addressed: The patent background describes conventional methods of delivering content to mobile devices as either overly broad (e.g., broadcast to an entire city) or purely reactive (e.g., in response to a direct user request), noting these technologies are "less than perfect" (’247 Patent, col. 1:32-33). The technical problem is the lack of a centralized system to proactively deliver exclusive, sponsored content to specific applications on mobile devices when they enter well-defined, reserved geographic areas.
  • The Patented Solution: The invention proposes a "content delivery platform" that manages a system of reserved geographic areas for various "sponsors" (’247 Patent, col. 2:45-56). The platform registers application programs, establishes perimeters for geographic areas, and handles requests from sponsors to reserve those areas for exclusive content delivery (’247 Patent, Fig. 1). When a mobile device running a registered application enters a reserved area, the platform provides content associated with that area's sponsor to the application, potentially excluding content from other sponsors (’247 Patent, col. 4:1-9).
  • Technical Importance: This approach allows for the creation of a marketplace for location-based advertising or content, enabling sponsors to target users with high precision and relevance based on their real-world location.

Key Claims at a Glance

  • The complaint asserts at least independent claim 1 and its dependent claim 15 (Compl. ¶36).
  • The essential elements of independent claim 1 include:
    • Registering a plurality of application programs for use with a content delivery platform.
    • Establishing a plurality of perimeters defining a plurality of geographic areas.
    • Receiving a request from a registered application program to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area.
    • Determining if the interest is to be provided to that application.
    • Reserving content delivery for that area to one or more sponsors after determining an object of interest has entered the area.
    • Receiving content from the sponsor(s).
    • Providing at least a portion of the received content to the application program after the object of interest has entered the area.
  • The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶34).

U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 - "Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas"

The Invention Explained

  • Problem Addressed: As a continuation of the same patent family, the ’625 Patent addresses the same technical problem as the ’247 Patent: the limitations of conventional broad or reactive content delivery systems (’625 Patent, col. 1:12-33).
  • The Patented Solution: The ’625 Patent similarly describes a content delivery platform that manages sponsored, geographically-defined content. This patent's claims focus on a sequence of events including registering an application, receiving a request for an interest in an area, storing a reservation for that area, and then providing content when an "object of interest" enters that area (’625 Patent, col. 2:48-67). The specification discusses how the "object of interest" can be the mobile device itself or another location, such as a friend or a destination on a map (’625 Patent, col. 6:1-15).
  • Technical Importance: This system provides a method for managing and arbitrating access to location-based content delivery, including rules for handling events like a device both entering and exiting a defined area.

Key Claims at a Glance

  • The complaint asserts at least independent claim 20 (Compl. ¶50).
  • The essential elements of independent claim 20 include:
    • Registering an application program for having content delivered after an object of interest has entered and exited a designated geographic area.
    • Receiving a request from the registered program to obtain an interest in the area.
    • Storing a reservation associating the area with the registered program.
    • Restricting content delivery to content from at least one sponsor after the object of interest has entered the area.
    • Causing the sponsor's content to be provided for use by the application after the object of interest has entered the area.
  • The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶48).

U.S. Patent No. 8,433,296 - "Exclusive Delivery of Content Within Geographic Areas"

  • Technology Synopsis: This patent, the parent of the other asserted patents, discloses a centralized content delivery platform that allows sponsors to reserve geographic areas. The platform then delivers content from a specific sponsor to registered applications on mobile devices that have target locations within that sponsor's reserved area (’296 Patent, Abstract).
  • Asserted Claims: The complaint asserts at least independent claim 11 (Compl. ¶62).
  • Accused Features: The complaint alleges that the Home Depot mobile application and its associated infrastructure, including the "Store Mode" and "Curbside Pickup" features, infringe the ’296 Patent (Compl. ¶61).

III. The Accused Instrumentality

Product Identification

  • The accused instrumentalities are The Home Depot mobile application, specifically its "Store Mode" and "Curbside Pickup" features, and mobile devices used by company employees, known as the "hdPhone" (Compl. ¶¶35, 49).

Functionality and Market Context

  • The complaint alleges that the Home Depot mobile application uses geofencing technology to enhance the customer shopping experience. It cites an article stating that when a user enters a Home Depot store, the app "will automatically switch to in-store mode," providing access to features like a product locator that navigates users to a specific aisle and bay (Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.4; Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.2). The complaint provides a screenshot of the app's "Product Locator" showing an in-store map guiding a user to an item's location (Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.2). For curbside pickup, the complaint alleges the app uses geofencing to automatically notify store associates of a customer's arrival in the parking lot (Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.8). A screenshot from the app explicitly prompts the user to "Share your Location so we can have your order ready when you arrive," which illustrates this functionality (Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.6). These features are presented as part of Defendant's core mobile strategy to create a consistent and easier shopping experience across its retail channels (Compl. ¶39, Example Image 1.4).

IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations

’247 Patent Infringement Allegations

Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) Alleged Infringing Functionality Complaint Citation Patent Citation
registering a plurality of application programs for use with a content delivery platform Defendant provides the Home Depot mobile app, which is registered for use with Defendant's backend content delivery platform when installed on customer and employee devices. ¶39 col. 8:15-20
establishing a plurality of perimeters defining a plurality of geographic areas Defendant's platform establishes geofences (perimeters) around its store locations and parking lots to enable location-based services like Store Mode and Curbside Pickup. ¶40 col. 8:60-67
receiving, from at least a particular one of the registered application programs, a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area The app running on a user's device communicates with Defendant's platform, providing location information that functions as a request for location-specific content or services. ¶41 col. 9:15-21
in response to determining that the interest...is to be provided..., reserving content delivery to at least the particular one of the registered application programs to being from one or more sponsors... Defendant's platform logic reserves the delivery of Home Depot-specific content (acting as its own sponsor) to the app once it is determined the device has entered a store's geofence. ¶43 col. 10:55-62
receiving, from the one or more sponsors, content to be delivered to at least one of the registered application programs... Defendant's platform receives its own content (e.g., store maps, product locations, promotional offers) for delivery to the mobile app. ¶44 col. 9:62-67
providing...at least a portion of the content received from the one or more sponsors to at least the particular one of the registered application programs after it is determined that the object of interest has entered the designated geographic area Defendant's platform delivers content such as the in-store map, product locations via the "Product Locator," or curbside pickup notifications to the user's app upon detecting entry into the geofenced store or parking lot. ¶45 col. 10:1-12

’625 Patent Infringement Allegations

Claim Element (from Independent Claim 20) Alleged Infringing Functionality Complaint Citation Patent Citation
registering an application program for having content associated with one or more sponsors delivered...after it is determined that an object of interest has one of entered and exited a designated geographic area... Defendant's app is registered on its platform to receive content based on entry into and exit from geofenced areas (e.g., a store), thereby activating and deactivating "Store Mode." ¶53 col. 9:15-21
receiving, from the registered application program, a request to obtain an interest in the designated geographic area...after it is determined that the object of interest has entered the designated geographic area The app communicates its entry into a geofenced area to the backend platform, which constitutes a request for location-specific content. ¶54 col. 9:50-57
storing a reservation associating the designated geographic area with the registered application program after it is determined that the interest...is to be granted... Defendant's platform stores a record that associates the specific store's geofence with the app instance that has entered it, reserving the delivery of content. ¶55 col. 8:54-57
restricting content delivery to the one or more application program instances to being content associated with at least one of the one or more sponsors after it is determined that the object of interest has entered the designated geographic area Upon detecting a user's entry into a store, the platform restricts content delivery to that app instance to Home Depot-specific information (e.g., in-store maps, local inventory), with Home Depot acting as its own sponsor. ¶56 col. 10:33-40
causing registered application program content associated with at least one of the one or more sponsors to be provided for use by the one or more application program instances after it is determined that the object of interest has entered... Defendant's platform provides store-specific content to the app after the user's device enters the geofence, such as enabling "Store Mode" or triggering a curbside pickup alert. ¶57 col. 10:55-67

Identified Points of Contention

  • Scope Questions: The patents describe a system with "sponsors" reserving geographic areas, which may suggest a multi-tenant platform where third parties purchase location-based advertising rights. A central question may be whether the term "sponsor," as used in the claims, can be construed to cover a scenario where the platform operator (Home Depot) is also the sole provider of content for its own locations.
  • Technical Questions: A point of contention may arise over whether the accused system performs the specific step of "reserving content delivery" or "storing a reservation" as an affirmative action, as required by the claims. The defense may argue that the system simply serves pre-associated content based on a location trigger without performing a distinct "reservation" step for each user entry. Further, for Claim 20 of the ’625 Patent, the complaint does not provide specific facts showing the system tracks both entry and exit events as recited in the first element.

V. Key Claim Terms for Construction

  • The Term: "sponsor"

  • Context and Importance: This term is central because the infringement theory requires The Home Depot to be its own "sponsor." The patents' description of a system where different sponsors can reserve areas, including shared areas (e.g., ’247 Patent, col. 5:46-54), suggests a competitive marketplace model. The definition of "sponsor" will determine whether the claims read on the accused single-entity ecosystem.

  • Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

    • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The claims do not explicitly require the "sponsor" to be a separate legal entity from the operator of the "content delivery platform." The specification defines sponsors simply as entities that can reserve an interest in a geographic area for content delivery (’247 Patent, col. 2:45-53). This could arguably include the platform operator itself.
    • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent figures consistently depict "Sponsor A," "Sponsor B," and "Sponsor C" as distinct entities communicating with the "Content Delivery Platform" (e.g., ’247 Patent, Fig. 1). This visual separation may support an interpretation that the sponsor is an external party.

  • The Term: "object of interest"

  • Context and Importance: The claims require determinations to be made based on the location of an "object of interest." The complaint's theory appears to equate this object with the mobile device running the app. Its construction is important because if the term is found to require capabilities beyond tracking the host device itself, there may be a mismatch with the accused system's functionality.

  • Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

    • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The specification states that a "target location" can be determined, which may be "the location of the mobile device, or some other location indicated in the request" (’247 Patent, col. 2:54-58). This suggests the "object of interest" is simply the entity whose location is being tracked, which can be the device itself.
    • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification provides examples where the object of interest is distinct from the user's device, such as "a friend of the user" or "an end destination on a map" (’247 Patent, col. 6:1-15). This could support an argument that the term implies a system capable of tracking targets other than the host device.

VI. Other Allegations

  • Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges inducement of infringement, stating that Defendants encourage and instruct customers and employees to use the accused mobile application features, thereby causing them to perform the steps of the patented methods (Compl. ¶¶37, 51, 63).
  • Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges willful infringement based on Defendants’ alleged knowledge of the patents since at least August 22, 2024, the filing date of a prior complaint. The complaint asserts that Defendants continued their allegedly infringing conduct without investigation or alteration after receiving actual notice (Compl. ¶¶37, 51, 63).

VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case

  • A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the term "sponsor," as used in the context of a platform for reserving geographic areas, be construed to cover the platform operator itself in a closed ecosystem, or does it require a third-party relationship as suggested by the patent figures and descriptive examples?
  • A key evidentiary question will be one of operational mapping: what evidence will discovery yield to show that Defendant's backend systems perform the specific, discrete steps of "reserving content delivery" and "storing a reservation" as recited in the claims, beyond simply triggering pre-set content based on a device's location?
  • A third question will relate to claim language interpretation: does the passive reporting of a device's location to a server and the automatic switching of an application's mode constitute "receiving...a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area," or does the claim language require a more affirmative request from the application or user?