DCT
2:25-cv-00123
H2 Intellect LLC v. Home Depot Inc
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: H2 Intellect LLC (Texas)
- Defendant: Amazon.com, Inc. (Delaware); Amazon.com Services, LLC (Delaware); Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Texas)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Winston & Strawn LLP
- Case Identification: 2:25-cv-127, E.D. Tex., 08/22/2025
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper because Defendants maintain regular and established places of business within the Eastern District of Texas, including numerous fulfillment centers, delivery stations, Amazon Hub Lockers, and Whole Foods Market grocery stores.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s package delivery services, smart home ecosystem, and retail operations infringe patents related to systems for delivering content to mobile devices based on their location within specific, predefined geographic areas.
- Technical Context: The technology at issue, commonly known as geofencing, enables the delivery of targeted information or the triggering of specific actions when a device enters or exits a virtual perimeter.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint does not mention prior litigation, licensing history, or post-grant proceedings involving the Asserted Patents. The patents-in-suit are part of a larger family of patents originating from a single 2009 application.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2009-05-01 | Patent Priority Date for ’247, ’625, and ’171 Patents |
| 2015-03-10 | U.S. Patent No. 8,977,247 Issued |
| 2016-03-15 | U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 Issued |
| 2024-04-02 | U.S. Patent No. 11,948,171 Issued |
| 2025-08-22 | Complaint Filing Date |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 8,977,247 - Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas, issued March 10, 2015 (’247 Patent)
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent describes conventional methods for delivering content to mobile devices as imperfect, noting that they either broadcast content to all devices in a wide area or deliver content only in response to a direct user request, lacking a mechanism for exclusive, geographically-targeted delivery (’247 Patent, col. 1:25-40).
- The Patented Solution: The invention proposes a content delivery platform that allows "sponsors" to reserve exclusive or semi-exclusive rights to geographic areas defined by specific perimeters. When a registered application on a mobile device enters a sponsor's reserved area, the platform provides content associated with that sponsor to the application, potentially subject to time-based or other restrictions (’247 Patent, Abstract; col. 2:9-24). This creates a system for targeted, location-aware content delivery that is neither a simple broadcast nor a direct user-initiated pull.
- Technical Importance: The patented solution describes a technical framework for the location-based advertising and services industry, aiming to solve the problem of "alert spam" by delivering more relevant content based on a user's real-time location (Compl. ¶¶50, 56).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts at least independent claim 1 (Compl. ¶59).
- The essential elements of claim 1 include:
- Registering multiple application programs with a content delivery platform.
- Establishing perimeters that define geographic areas.
- Receiving a request from an application to obtain an interest in a designated area.
- Determining if the interest is to be provided to that application.
- Reserving content delivery from one or more sponsors for that application after an "object of interest" enters the area.
- Receiving content from the sponsor(s).
- Providing the content to the application after the "object of interest" has entered the area.
- The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims.
U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 - Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas, issued March 15, 2016 (’625 Patent)
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The ’625 Patent addresses the same technical problem as the ’247 Patent, as it originates from the same patent family (’625 Patent, col. 1:21-45).
- The Patented Solution: The invention is embodied in a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., software) containing instructions to perform the location-based content delivery method. The instructions direct a system to register an application, receive a request for an interest in a geographic area, store a reservation for that area, restrict content delivery from other sponsors, and cause the reserved content to be provided once an object of interest enters the area (’625 Patent, Abstract; Claim 20).
- Technical Importance: By claiming a computer-readable medium, the patent seeks to cover the software product (such as a downloadable application) that enables the geofencing system, as distinct from the method of using the system.
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts at least independent claim 20 (Compl. ¶73).
- The essential elements of claim 20 are instructions on a non-transitory medium for:
- Registering an application for receiving sponsored content upon an object of interest entering/exiting a designated area.
- Receiving a request from the application for an interest in the area.
- Storing a reservation that associates the area with the application.
- Restricting content delivery to content from the associated sponsor(s).
- Causing the sponsored content to be provided to the application after the object enters the area.
- The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims.
U.S. Patent No. 11,948,171 - Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas, issued April 2, 2024 (’171 Patent)
- Technology Synopsis: The ’171 Patent claims a system for "creating and offloading location awareness," which is designed to improve mobile device battery life (Compl. ¶52). A computer program on a mobile device sends a request to a content delivery platform to receive an "identifier" upon entering a specified geographic area; the platform monitors the device's location and delivers the identifier only after entry is confirmed, thus relieving the device's main application processor from the need to continuously poll for its own location (’171 Patent, Abstract; Claim 1).
- Asserted Claims: The complaint asserts at least independent claim 43 (Compl. ¶85).
- Accused Features: The infringement allegations target Amazon's systems that allegedly send requests for identifiers associated with geographic areas to a central platform and then receive those identifiers on a mobile device after entering the area (Compl. ¶¶88-90).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The complaint names a wide range of Amazon's products and services, including Amazon's package delivery logistics (specifically the Amazon Flex service), the Alexa and Echo smart home ecosystem (including Alexa Routines and Ring doorbells), AWS APIs, and geofencing implementations used by its subsidiary Whole Foods Market (Compl. ¶58).
Functionality and Market Context
- The complaint alleges that these instrumentalities implement geofencing technology. For example, the Amazon Flex app for delivery drivers allegedly uses a mobile device's location to create a geofence around a delivery address to confirm package drop-offs (Compl. ¶¶62-63). A screenshot of a driver forum post discusses issues with the "geo fence" not triggering a delivery confirmation (Compl. ¶63, Example Image 1.6). Alexa Routines are alleged to use "geolocation" as a trigger for smart home actions, such as locking doors when a user leaves home (Compl. ¶¶63, 25, Example Image 1.8, 1.9, 1.11). The Ring app allegedly uses geofencing to automatically snooze motion alerts when a user's mobile device is at home (Compl. ¶63, Example Image 1.21).
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 | Amazon’s platform allegedly registers applications like the Amazon Flex app, the Alexa app, and the Ring app for use with its content and location-based services (Compl. ¶62). | ¶62 | col. 3:39-41 |
| establishing a plurality of perimeters defining a plurality of geographic areas | Geofences are allegedly established around delivery locations for Amazon Flex, a user's home for Alexa Routines, or a property for Ring devices (Compl. ¶63, Example Image 1.21). | ¶63 | col. 5:4-10 |
| receiving, from at least a particular one of the registered application programs, a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area | A user setting up an Alexa Routine to trigger upon arriving home, or a driver accepting a delivery route in the Flex app, is alleged to constitute a request (Compl. ¶64). | ¶64 | col. 3:52-54 |
| reserving content delivery to at least the particular one of the registered application programs to being from one or more sponsors after it is determined that an object of interest has entered... | The system allegedly reserves the delivery of a notification or the triggering of an action (the "content") for when the user or driver (the "object of interest") enters the geofence. | ¶66 | col. 8:46-52 |
| providing at least a portion of the content received... to at least the particular one of the registered application programs after it is determined that the object of interest has entered... | The system allegedly provides the content (e.g., a delivery confirmation prompt, a smart home action) to the app after the device crosses into the geofenced area (Compl. ¶68). | ¶68 | col. 9:10-18 |
’625 Patent Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 20) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| at least one instruction for registering an application program for having content associated with one or more sponsors delivered... after it is determined that an object of interest has... exited a designated geographic area... | Defendants allegedly provide software (e.g., the Alexa app) that registers with Amazon's backend to receive content/triggers when a user enters or leaves a geofence (Compl. ¶76). | ¶76 | col. 13:61-67 |
| at least one instruction for receiving, from the registered application program, a request to obtain an interest in the designated geographic area... | The provided software allegedly contains instructions for sending a user's defined geofence (e.g., "Home") to Amazon's servers (Compl. ¶77). | ¶77 | col. 14:3-7 |
| at least one instruction for storing a reservation associating the designated geographic area with the registered application program... | The complaint alleges Defendants' products include instructions for storing the association between the user's geofence and the app on Amazon's platform (Compl. ¶78). | ¶78 | col. 14:8-12 |
| at least one instruction for causing registered application program content... to be provided for use by the one or more application program instances after it is determined that the object of interest has entered... | The complaint alleges the software has instructions to cause an action (e.g., turning on lights) to be executed by the app after the user's device enters the geofence (Compl. ¶80). | ¶80 | col. 14:19-24 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: A central question may be whether the term "sponsor," used throughout the patents in a commercial advertising context, can be construed to read on Amazon itself in its first-party logistics and smart home ecosystems. Similarly, the interpretation of "reserving content delivery" will be critical—does it require a formal system for resolving competing claims for an area, as the patent specification suggests, or can it be met by a single application setting a trigger for itself?
- Technical Questions: For the method claim of the ’247 Patent, the sequence of operations is a potential point of dispute. The claim recites "reserving content delivery... after it is determined that an object of interest has entered the designated geographic area." The complaint's examples, such as setting up an Alexa Routine, may suggest that the "reservation" (the trigger) occurs long before the user enters the area, raising a question of whether the accused systems meet this temporal limitation. For the computer-readable medium claims of the ’625 Patent, a potential issue is divided infringement: can the plaintiff show that the software provided by Amazon performs all the claimed steps, including server-side actions like "storing a reservation"?
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "object of interest" (e.g., ’247 Patent, cl. 1)
Context and Importance: This term's definition is fundamental to the scope of infringement. The complaint alleges the "object of interest" can be a delivery driver or a user returning home. Practitioners may focus on whether this term is limited to the third-party objects or locations described in the patent's embodiments or if it can broadly cover the mobile device user themselves.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The specification states that a "target location" can be "the location of the mobile device, or some other location indicated in the request" (’247 Patent, col. 2:15-18).
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification includes Figure 2, which explicitly distinguishes between the "Registered Application 231" and a separate "Object of Interest 233" that it is tracking, which could support an interpretation that the two are necessarily distinct entities.
The Term: "sponsor" (e.g., ’247 Patent, cl. 1)
Context and Importance: The claims require content to be from one or more "sponsors." The construction of this term will determine whether the patents can apply to a closed ecosystem like Amazon's, where the platform owner is also the content provider, rather than a platform facilitating third-party advertising.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent does not provide an explicit definition of "sponsor," potentially leaving its meaning open to its plain and ordinary usage.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The detailed description consistently uses "sponsor" to refer to distinct commercial entities (e.g., "sponsor A 121, sponsor C 123, and sponsor B 125") that are separate from the platform operator and are analogous to advertisers (’247 Patent, col. 3:28-32).
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint pleads induced infringement, alleging that Defendants direct and intend for their customers and users (e.g., Amazon Flex drivers, Alexa users) to use the Accused Products in a manner that performs the steps of the patented methods (Compl. ¶¶60, 74, 86).
- Willful Infringement: The complaint does not allege pre-suit knowledge of the patents. It does, however, state that "Defendants received actual notice of the [’247, ’625, and ’171] Patent at least as early as the filing of this Complaint," which may form the basis for alleging post-filing willful infringement (Compl. ¶¶60, 74, 86).
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the patent framework, described primarily in the context of a multi-tenant platform for third-party advertisers ("sponsors") to "reserve" geographic territories, be construed to cover a vertically integrated, first-party system where the platform owner (Amazon) uses geofencing for its own logistics and smart home automation?
- A key evidentiary question will be one of technical and temporal mapping: does the complaint provide sufficient evidence that the accused systems perform the claimed steps in the required order, particularly the limitation in Claim 1 of the ’247 Patent that recites "reserving content delivery... after it is determined that an object of interest has entered the designated geographic area"?
- The case may also present a significant question of divided infringement for the system claims, centering on whether the plaintiff can prove that Amazon directs or controls all claimed actions, including those performed by software instructions on a user's personal mobile device and those performed on its own remote servers.