A U.S. District Court jury has ruled that ClearOne did not infringe on Shure’s patent related to ceiling tile beamforming mic arrays, marking another chapter in the litigation between the two audio manufacturers.
The jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware found on Nov. 3 that ClearOne did not infringe on Shure’s patent, and further, that Shure’s patent is not valid.
In an emailed statement to Commercial Integrator, Shure said the company plans to appeal both rulings.
“Shure is disappointed by the jury’s findings that our ‘723 patent is not valid and was not infringed,” the company said. “We believe the United States Patent Office correctly recognized Shure‘s novel design when it issued the ‘723 patent, and ClearOne’s BMA CT products infringe that design. We intend to appeal both rulings.”
According to ClearOne, the products accused of infringement in this case included the BMA CT, BMA CTH (i.e. the COLLABORATE Versa Pro CT, COLLABORATE Versa Lite CT, COLLABORATE Versa Room CT), BMA 360, and BMA-CTX.
In a statement, ClearOne President and CEO Zee Hakimoglu called the jury’s verdict “the latest in a string of litigation victories” for the company against Shure.
“We are very pleased that the jury found that ClearOne’s BMA CT products did not infringe and invalidated Shure’s patent,” Hakimoglu said. “Shure was using the ’723 patent to retaliate against ClearOne, and the jury’s verdict validates ClearOne’s refusal to give in to Shure’s tactics.”
The companies are embroiled in other federal litigation in the Northern District of Illinois related to Shure’s drop-in ceiling mounting configurations in which ClearOne is accusing Shure of infringement. The court in 2019 granted ClearOne’s request for a preliminary injunction that prevents Shure from making and selling those products. In September 2020, the court found Shure in contempt for selling a different version of that product that Clear believes infringes its own patent and violates the preliminary injunction.
Then, in July 2021, a U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed Shure’s appeal of that contempt finding.
For a lengthier history of the litigation between ClearOne and Shure, read this 2019 CI article.
