DCT
2:25-cv-00123
H2 Intellect LLC v. Home Depot Inc
Key Events
Amended Complaint
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: H2 Intellect LLC (Texas)
- Defendant: Amazon.com Services, LLC (Delaware / Washington); Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Texas)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Winston & Strawn LLP
- Case Identification: 2:25-cv-00123, E.D. Tex., 10/31/2025
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas because Defendants maintain regular and established places of business within the district, including fulfillment centers, warehouses, and Whole Foods stores that provide Amazon Hub Lockers.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendants’ geofencing services and related products—including the Amazon Flex delivery platform, Alexa smart home routines, and Ring security app—infringe patents directed to systems for delivering location-specific content within reserved geographic areas.
- Technical Context: The technology at issue relates to using a mobile device's geographic location to trigger the delivery of targeted content or actions within a predefined virtual perimeter, a foundational capability for modern location-based advertising and services.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint asserts three patents that all claim priority from a single U.S. patent application filed in 2009. No prior litigation, licensing history, or post-grant proceedings are mentioned in the complaint.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2009-05-01 | Priority Date for ’247, ’625, and ’171 Patents |
| 2015-03-10 | U.S. Patent No. 8,977,247 Issues |
| 2016-03-15 | U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 Issues |
| 2024-04-02 | U.S. Patent No. 11,948,171 Issues |
| 2025-10-31 | Complaint Filed |
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
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent describes a technological landscape where content delivery to mobile devices was either overly broad (e.g., broadcast to all devices in a city) or based on direct user interactions, lacking a mechanism for targeted, location-specific, and exclusive content delivery. (’171 Patent, col. 1:49-59).
- The Patented Solution: The invention discloses a centralized content delivery platform where "sponsors" (e.g., advertisers) can reserve exclusive or semi-exclusive rights to geographic areas defined by virtual perimeters. When a mobile device running a registered application enters a reserved area, the platform provides content associated with that area's sponsor, excluding content from other sponsors. (’247 Patent, Abstract; col. 3:41-50).
- Technical Importance: This framework provides a method for creating a commercial marketplace for location-based services, enabling sponsors to target users with geographically relevant content based on their real-world presence. (Compl. ¶¶29-30).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent method claim 1. (Compl. ¶41).
- Essential elements of claim 1 include:
- Registering a plurality of application programs for use with a content delivery platform.
- Establishing a plurality of perimeters defining geographic areas.
- Receiving, from an application program, a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area.
- Determining if the interest is to be provided to that application program.
- In response, reserving content delivery to that application program from one or more sponsors after it is determined an "object of interest" has entered the area.
- Receiving content from the sponsor(s).
- Providing the content to the application program.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims. (Compl. ¶39).
U.S. Patent No. 9,286,625 - “Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas,” issued March 15, 2016
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: As described for the ’247 Patent, the invention addresses the need for a more sophisticated, location-aware content delivery system than what was conventionally available. (’171 Patent, col. 1:49-59).
- The Patented Solution: This patent claims the system itself, embodied as a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., server software). The medium stores instructions for performing the core functions of the invention: registering applications, receiving requests for geographic areas, storing reservations for those areas, restricting content delivery to the reserved area, and causing sponsored content to be provided. (’625 Patent, Abstract; col. 15:18-16:8).
- Technical Importance: Claiming the invention as a software product provides a different enforcement angle than a method claim, targeting the entity that makes or sells the system software that enables the location-based service. (Compl. ¶¶57-58).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 20. (Compl. ¶55).
- Essential elements of claim 20 include a non-transitory computer readable medium with instructions for:
- Registering an application program for having content delivered.
- Receiving a request from the program to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area.
- Storing a reservation associating the area with the registered program.
- Restricting content delivery to the program to be from at least one sponsor.
- Causing the sponsor's content to be provided after an object of interest enters the area.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims. (Compl. ¶53).
U.S. Patent No. 11,948,171 - “Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas,” issued April 2, 2024 (Multi-Patent Capsule)
Technology Synopsis
This patent focuses on "creating and offloading location awareness" from the perspective of the mobile device. (Compl. ¶¶70-72). The claimed system involves a computer program on the mobile device that sends a request to a content delivery platform for an "identifier" associated with a geographic area; the platform then delivers that identifier to the program once the device enters the area. This approach is presented as a way to improve mobile device battery life by reducing the need for an application to continuously poll its own location. (Compl. ¶34; ’171 Patent, Abstract).
Asserted Claims
The complaint asserts independent claim 43. (Compl. ¶67).
Accused Features
The accused features are Defendants' products and services that use geofencing and provide location information for advertising or other content delivery. (Compl. ¶66).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
The accused instrumentalities include Amazon's package delivery services, the Amazon Flex application for delivery drivers, the Alexa digital assistant and its "Routines" feature, Ring smart doorbells and the associated Ring App, and underlying technologies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) APIs and the Vega OS. (Compl. ¶40, ¶54, ¶66).
Functionality and Market Context
The complaint alleges that these products and services implement geofencing, which involves establishing a virtual perimeter around a real-world geographic area. (Compl. ¶40). For the Amazon Flex service, a geofence around a delivery address is allegedly used to confirm a driver is at the correct location to complete a delivery. (Compl. Example Image 1.6). The complaint provides screenshots from the Amazon Flex app showing real-time road information and map safety cues, illustrating the app's location-awareness. (Compl. Example Image 1.4, p. 18). For Alexa Routines and the Ring App, a user can establish a geofence around a location like their home to trigger automated actions (e.g., turn on lights upon arrival, receive a reminder to lock the door upon departure). (Compl. ¶44; Example Image 1.21, p. 27). The complaint frames these functionalities as a "content delivery platform" that delivers information or triggers actions based on a device entering a defined geographic area. (Compl. ¶44).
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 registers applications like the Amazon Flex app, the Alexa app, and the Ring app for use with its back-end location services platform. | ¶44 | col. 3:37-40 |
| establishing a plurality of perimeters defining a plurality of geographic areas | Users and/or Amazon establish geofences, which act as perimeters, around delivery locations for Amazon Flex or around user-defined locations (e.g., "Home") for Alexa and Ring Routines. | ¶45 | col. 8:54-56 |
| receiving, from at least a particular one of the registered application programs, a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area | The apps request location-based services, such as setting up a geofence trigger for an Alexa Routine or using location to confirm a delivery for Flex. | ¶46 | col. 4:51-54 |
| in response to determining that the interest...is to be provided...reserving content delivery...to being from one or more sponsors after it is determined that an object of interest has entered the designated geographic area | Amazon's platform reserves a specific action or notification for the app upon entry into the geofence (e.g., triggering a smart home action, enabling a delivery confirmation). | ¶48 | col. 9:28-34 |
| 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... | When the device enters the geofence, the platform delivers the "content," such as a smart home command, a location-based reminder, or a delivery status update, to the corresponding app. | ¶50 | col. 9:43-47 |
’625 Patent Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 20) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A non-transitory computer readable medium...instructions comprising...registering an application program for having content associated with one or more sponsors delivered... | Amazon provides software (e.g., on its servers) with instructions to register apps like Alexa and Ring to work with its location-based services platform. | ¶58 | col. 3:37-40 |
| receiving, from the registered application program, a request to obtain an interest in the designated geographic area... | The server software includes instructions to receive requests from the apps to set up geofence triggers and other location-based services. | ¶59 | col. 4:51-54 |
| after it is determined that the interest...is to be granted to the registered application program, storing a reservation associating the designated geographic area with the registered application program... | The software includes instructions to store the association between the defined geofence and the specific app/user account that set the trigger. | ¶60 | col. 10:4-10 |
| 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... | The software includes instructions to ensure that only the pre-defined action/content is triggered for that specific app when the geofence is entered. | ¶61 | col. 3:45-50 |
| 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... | The software includes instructions to execute the command—such as sending a signal to a smart light or confirming a delivery—when the device's location enters the stored geofence. | ¶62 | col. 10:59-67 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: The infringement theory may raise questions of definitional scope. For instance, can the term "sponsor," which the patent specification primarily describes in the context of third-party advertisers, be construed to cover an end-user creating a personal smart home routine or Amazon itself facilitating its own delivery logistics? Similarly, does a system command (e.g., "turn on light") or a status update ("delivery confirmed") qualify as "content" as contemplated by the patents?
- Technical Questions: A potential point of contention may be whether the accused systems perform the claimed step of "reserving content delivery" in a manner that implies exclusivity against competing sponsors. The complaint alleges this functionality (Compl. ¶48), but the court may need to determine if setting a general-purpose location trigger in an app technically meets the claim limitation of reserving a geographic area within a competitive, multi-sponsor framework as described in the patent specification.
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "sponsor"
- Context and Importance: The definition of "sponsor" is critical to determining whether the claims apply to the accused services. The complaint's theory requires either the end-user (for Alexa/Ring) or Amazon itself (for Flex) to be a "sponsor." Practitioners may focus on this term because the patent's examples heavily feature a third-party advertising model.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The claims themselves refer to "one or more sponsors" without explicitly limiting the term to third-party advertisers. (’247 Patent, col. 14:3-4). The specification describes sponsors providing "content," which could be interpreted as any entity providing information or an action tied to a location.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The detailed description consistently uses "sponsor" in the context of a commercial entity reserving geographic areas for advertising, often discussing multiple, competing sponsors (e.g., "Sponsor A," "Sponsor C"). (’247 Patent, Fig. 1; col. 4:29-32). The abstract also frames the invention around content "associated with particular sponsors." (’247 Patent, Abstract).
The Term: "reserving content delivery"
- Context and Importance: The infringement allegation hinges on whether creating a geofence trigger in the Alexa or Ring apps constitutes "reserving" an area. The outcome of this construction will determine if the user-configured nature of the accused services falls within the scope of the claims.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The claim language itself does not specify the mechanism of reservation. An argument could be made that any act of associating a specific content/action with a specific geographic area for a specific application constitutes a "reservation." (’247 Patent, col. 14:1-6).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification describes a system for managing competing claims and resolving priorities between different sponsors for the same geographic area, suggesting "reserving" is an act of securing exclusive or semi-exclusive rights in a competitive environment, not merely setting a personal trigger. (’247 Patent, col. 4:51-54; col. 7:1-5).
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges induced infringement, stating that Defendants encourage and instruct end-users, through app interfaces and user documentation, to perform the claimed methods by setting up and using the geofencing features of the Accused Products. (Compl. ¶42, ¶56, ¶68).
- Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges that Defendants received actual notice of the patents "at least as early as the filing of this Complaint." (Compl. ¶42, ¶56, ¶68). This allegation appears to support a claim for post-suit willful infringement only, as it does not assert pre-suit knowledge of the patents.
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the patent terms "sponsor" and "content," which are rooted in the specification's context of a commercial advertising marketplace, be construed broadly enough to encompass the accused functionalities, where the "sponsor" may be the end-user and the "content" may be a smart home command or a delivery status update?
- A central technical question will be one of functional mismatch: does the act of a user creating a personal geofence trigger in the accused Alexa or Ring apps perform the claimed function of "reserving" a geographic area in the manner described by the patents, which detail a system for managing competing commercial claims for exclusivity?