DCT
2:25-cv-00127
H2 Intellect LLC v. Amazon.com Inc
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: H2 Intellect LLC (Texas)
- Defendant: Amazon.com, Inc., Amazon.com Services, LLC, and Whole Foods Market, Inc. (Delaware/Texas)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Winston & Strawn LLP
- Case Identification: 2:25-cv-127, E.D. Tex., 02/04/2025
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas because Defendants maintain regular and established places of business in the district, including fulfillment centers, delivery stations, Amazon Hub Lockers, and Whole Foods Market stores.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s logistics, smart home, and retail service platforms infringe patents related to systems for delivering location-specific content to mobile devices within pre-defined geographic areas.
- Technical Context: The technology at issue involves geofencing, where a virtual perimeter is established around a real-world geographic area to trigger an action—such as delivering content or a command—when a mobile device enters or leaves that area.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint describes the inventors’ prior development of a related commercial product called "ChamberPlanet" in the mid-2000s. The Asserted Patents all claim priority to a single application filed in 2009. No prior litigation or post-grant proceedings are mentioned in the complaint.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2009-05-01 | Earliest 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 |
| 2025-02-04 | 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 (’247 Patent)
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent’s background section notes that conventional content delivery to mobile devices was "less than perfect," being either broad, non-specific broadcasts to all devices in a large area or simple request-response interactions that lacked exclusivity and sophisticated location-based targeting (’247 Patent, col. 1:39-41).
- The Patented Solution: The invention describes a centralized content delivery platform where "sponsors" (e.g., advertisers) can reserve exclusive or semi-exclusive rights to deliver content to registered mobile applications that enter a specific, defined geographic area (’247 Patent, Abstract). The system can determine a "target location"—which may be the mobile device itself or a separate "object of interest"—and, upon entry into a reserved zone, provide content associated with the corresponding sponsor while excluding content from others (’247 Patent, col. 3:20-37; FIG. 1).
- Technical Importance: The technology enables granular, location-based advertising and content delivery with exclusivity, which can be used to avoid "alert spam" by ensuring the relevance of notifications to a user's specific location (Compl. ¶¶35, 37).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 1 (Compl. ¶46).
- Claim 1 is a method claim with the following essential elements:
- 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 received content to the application after the "object of interest" has entered the area.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶44).
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: Like the ’247 Patent, this patent addresses the lack of a system for managing and providing exclusive, location-specific content to mobile applications (’625 Patent, col. 1:16-45).
- The Patented Solution: The invention claims a non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions that direct a processor to perform the steps of the patented method. This includes instructions for registering an application, receiving a request for an "interest" in an area, storing a "reservation" associating that area with the application, restricting content delivery to a specific sponsor, and causing that sponsor's content to be delivered when an "object of interest" enters the reserved area (’625 Patent, Abstract; Claim 20).
- Technical Importance: This patent protects the underlying software program that enables the location-based exclusive content delivery system described in the patent family (Compl. ¶¶33, 43).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 20 (Compl. ¶60).
- Claim 20 is a computer-readable medium claim comprising instructions for:
- Registering an application program for receiving content from sponsors.
- Receiving a request from the program to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area.
- Storing a reservation that associates the area with the registered program.
- Restricting content delivery to content from the associated sponsor(s).
- Causing the sponsor's content to be provided after an object of interest enters the designated area.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶58).
U.S. Patent No. 11,948,171 - "Exclusive Delivery of Content within Geographic Areas," Issued April 2, 2024 (’171 Patent)
The Invention Explained
- Technology Synopsis: The patent describes a system for "creating and offloading location awareness" from a mobile device to a central platform (’171 Patent, col. 13:25-26). A mobile device sends requests to a platform to reserve a geographic area and to receive an "identifier" when the device enters that area. This architecture is intended to improve mobile device battery life by reducing the need for the device's main application processor to continuously poll its own location (Compl. ¶¶39, 43).
Key Claims and Accused Features
- Asserted Claims: The complaint asserts at least claim 43, a non-transitory computer-readable medium claim (Compl. ¶72).
- Accused Features: The complaint alleges that Amazon's products and services, such as Alexa Routines and the Amazon Flex app, infringe by sending requests for location-based triggers to Amazon's backend platform, which then monitors the device's location and sends back a signal or command when the device enters the specified geographic area (Compl. ¶¶71, 75-77).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The complaint names a broad suite of Amazon products, services, and underlying technologies as the "Accused Products." These include Amazon's package delivery services and the Amazon Flex application used by drivers; the Alexa voice assistant and its associated Echo and smart home products; Ring smart doorbells and their geofencing features; and geofencing implementations used by Whole Foods Market stores (Compl. ¶45).
Functionality and Market Context
- The infringement allegations focus on features that use a device's geographic location to trigger an action.
- Amazon Flex: The app provides navigation for delivery drivers and uses geofencing at delivery destinations to confirm that a driver is at the correct location before allowing a package to be marked as delivered (Compl. ¶49). Screenshots provided in the complaint show the Amazon Flex app's navigation interface and user discussions of the "geo fence" feature (Compl. Example Images 1.4, 1.6).
- Alexa Routines: Users can create automated routines for smart home devices that are triggered by "geolocation" (Compl. Example Image 1.9). For example, a user can set a routine to turn on house lights when the user's mobile device (and thus, the user) "Arrives" at their home address (Compl. p. 23-24).
- Ring Geofence: The Ring application allows users to draw a virtual "Geofence" around a property to trigger reminders or automatically change device modes when the user's mobile device crosses the boundary (Compl. p. 29). The complaint includes a diagram from Ring's website illustrating this geofence concept (Compl. Example Image 1.21).
- Whole Foods/AWS: The complaint alleges that Whole Foods uses geofencing to send marketing messages to customers near its stores and that Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the underlying location and tracking services that enable this functionality for Amazon and its customers (Compl. ¶¶45, 50; Example Images 1.23, 1.24).
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 system registers applications like the Amazon Flex app, the Alexa app, and the Ring app for use with its backend service platform (e.g., AWS). | ¶49 | col. 2:10-13 |
| establishing a plurality of perimeters defining a plurality of geographic areas | Amazon and its users establish geofences, such as delivery addresses in the Flex app, home/work locations for Alexa Routines, or property boundaries in the Ring app. | ¶50 | col. 2:13-15 |
| receiving...a request to obtain an interest in a designated geographic area | The registered applications send requests to Amazon's platform to activate location-based services (e.g., a user creates an Alexa Routine that triggers on arrival at home). | ¶51 | col. 2:20-24 |
| determining if the interest...is to be provided to at least the particular one of the registered application programs | Amazon's platform determines whether to enable the requested location-based trigger for the specific application. | ¶52 | col. 7:46-51 |
| reserving content delivery...from one or more sponsors after it is determined that an object of interest has entered the designated geographic area | The platform reserves a specific action or content delivery (e.g., a smart home command) to be triggered by a "sponsor" (e.g., a smart device manufacturer via an Alexa skill) upon device entry into the geofence. | ¶53 | col. 8:1-6 |
| receiving, from the one or more sponsors, content to be delivered | The platform receives the "content" to be delivered, which is alleged to be the data or command for the triggered action (e.g., an "ON" command from a smart light's cloud service). | ¶54 | col. 9:1-4 |
| providing...at least a portion of the content...after it is determined that the object of interest has entered the designated geographic area | After detecting the device has entered the geofence, Amazon's platform provides the command or content to the device or application to execute the reserved action. | ¶55 | col. 9:5-13 |
’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...delivered | The accused applications (e.g., Alexa, Ring) include code instructions for registering with Amazon's backend platform to receive location-based services or "content." | ¶63 | col. 13:42-49 |
| at least one instruction for receiving...a request to obtain an interest in the designated geographic area | The backend platform includes instructions for receiving and processing requests from the apps to set up location-based triggers. | ¶64 | col. 13:50-55 |
| at least one instruction for storing a reservation associating the designated geographic area with the registered application program | Amazon's backend systems include instructions for storing the association between a defined geofence and the specific action requested by the registered application. | ¶65 | col. 13:56-59 |
| at least one instruction for restricting content delivery...to being content associated with at least one of the one or more sponsors | The platform's logic allegedly restricts the triggered action to the specific "sponsor" designated in the user's routine or the service's configuration (e.g., only the designated smart light is activated). | ¶66 | col. 13:60-65 |
| at least one instruction for causing registered application program content...to be provided...after it is determined that the object of interest has entered the designated geographic area | The platform includes instructions to execute the delivery of the content or command once its location tracking service determines the device has entered the geofence. | ¶67 | col. 14:1-6 |
- Identified Points of Contention:
- Scope Questions: A central dispute may concern whether the term "sponsor", which the patent specification frames in an advertising context, can be construed to cover Amazon itself (in the Flex service) or a smart home device manufacturer whose product is merely being controlled by a user-defined routine. Similarly, the definition of "content" may be contested, specifically whether it includes smart home commands or delivery status confirmations, as opposed to advertisements.
- Technical Questions: The complaint alleges a "reserving" step where content delivery is set aside for a particular sponsor. A question for the court will be whether simply storing a user-defined, "if-then" rule in a database (e.g., "if I arrive home, turn on the lights") meets the technical requirements of "reserving" and "restricting" content delivery as claimed in the patents, which describe a system for managing competing commercial interests in geographic territories.
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
- The Term: "sponsor"
- Context and Importance: The definition of "sponsor" is critical to determining infringement. If the term is limited to a third-party entity paying for exclusive advertising rights, as the patent's background suggests, it may not read on the accused functionalities where Amazon is the service provider (Flex) or where a user is configuring their own smart home devices.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The claims use the term "sponsor" without explicitly limiting it to an advertiser (’247 Patent, Claim 1). The term could arguably encompass any entity providing the content or action that is triggered by location.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent’s detailed description and figures consistently depict a commercial ecosystem of "Sponsor A," "Sponsor B," and "Sponsor C" competing for exclusive rights to geographic areas, strongly implying a commercial advertising context (’247 Patent, FIG. 1; col. 3:48-51).
- The Term: "object of interest"
- Context and Importance: Infringement requires a determination that the "object of interest" has entered the designated area. The specification explicitly discloses an embodiment where the "object of interest" is a separate entity from the mobile device running the application (e.g., tracking a friend's location) (’247 Patent, FIG. 2; col. 6:1-8). If the term is construed to require this separation, accused systems that only track the location of the device running the app may not infringe.
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The term itself is general, and one's own device location can be an "object of interest" to the user. The specification states that a target location can be "the location of the mobile device, or some other location" (’247 Patent, Abstract).
- Intrinsic Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent's description of FIG. 2 details a scenario where the "target location is the location of object of interest 233, rather than the location of a mobile device executing registered application 231" (’247 Patent, col. 6:49-53). This suggests the inventor contemplated them as distinct entities.
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges inducement of infringement by Defendants' customers. It alleges that Amazon provides user manuals, application interfaces, and instructions (e.g., for setting up Alexa Routines or Ring Geofences) that direct end-users to perform the steps of the patented methods (Compl. ¶47). For the Amazon Flex service, it is alleged that Amazon induces its delivery drivers to infringe by requiring them to use the geofencing features of the Flex app (Compl. ¶47).
- Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges that Defendants received "actual notice" of the Asserted Patents "at least as early as the filing of this Complaint" (Compl. ¶¶47, 61, 73). This pleading provides a basis for potential post-suit willful infringement but does not allege any pre-suit knowledge by Defendants.
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the term "sponsor", rooted in the patent's context of competing advertisers, be construed to cover entities in fundamentally different contexts, such as Amazon managing its own logistics fleet or a smart device manufacturer responding to a user-configured command?
- A key technical question will be one of functional operation: does a user creating a simple "if-then" geofence trigger in an app (e.g., "if I leave home, arm my Ring alarm") perform the patented steps of "reserving" and "restricting" content delivery, or does the patent claim a more complex system for managing competing commercial access to geographic territories that is absent in the accused products?
- A third question concerns claim interpretation: does the claimed "object of interest" require a tracked entity that is separate from the mobile device running the application, as depicted in certain patent embodiments, and if so, how does that impact infringement allegations against systems that primarily track the user's own device location?