CHICAGO (LN) — Dialect LLC filed a patent infringement suit in federal court here Thursday, accusing Comcast Corp. of infringing five patents covering voice recognition and natural language understanding technology with its Xfinity Voice Remote, according to a complaint filed in the Northern District of Illinois.
Dialect, a Texas limited liability company based in Longview, Texas, alleged in its complaint that Comcast Corporation, Comcast Cable Communications LLC d/b/a Xfinity, and Comcast of Northern Illinois Inc. directly and induced infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,398,209; 8,447,607; 9,263,039; 9,734,825; and 7,620,549. The patents originated from VoiceBox Technologies, which spent more than a decade developing natural language understanding technology before Dialect acquired the portfolio.
The accused product is Comcast’s Xfinity Voice Remote, which the complaint said incorporates the patented technology. Comcast has released multiple versions of the remote, including models XR11, XR15, XR16, XR100, and XR.A. By 2018, Comcast reported having delivered over 18 million Xfinity Voice Remotes.
Dialect alleged in its complaint that Comcast became aware of the VoiceBox technology and the asserted patents as early as 2012, when VoiceBox executives including Michael Kennewick met with Comcast leadership at Comcast’s headquarters. The complaint said the meeting was attended by current Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, and VoiceBox presented its patented voice interaction technology and proposed integrating speech capabilities directly into Comcast’s remote controls.
According to the complaint, VoiceBox provided Comcast a draft license agreement on October 19, 2012, that would have granted Comcast a non-exclusive license under VoiceBox intellectual property rights. Comcast did not sign the license, the complaint said. VoiceBox and Comcast continued discussions through 2015, including an alpha test of the VoiceBox voice remote technology with 200 Comcast employees, before Comcast ceased communications, the complaint alleged.
On information and belief, Comcast incorporated key aspects of the patented VoiceBox technology into the design, development, and rollout of its Xfinity Voice Remote, the complaint said. Dialect alleged Comcast subjectively believed there was a high probability the asserted patents existed and that its accused products infringed those patents, and took deliberate action to avoid learning of these facts.
The complaint alleged Comcast’s infringement has been and continues to be deliberate, intentional, and willful, making this an exceptional case warranting an award of enhanced damages and attorneys’ fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. §§ 284 and 285. Dialect seeks monetary damages in an amount to be proven at trial, a permanent injunction, enhanced damages, and attorneys’ fees.
Dialect previously asserted the ‘825 patent against Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a lawsuit that was dismissed before Samsung filed a responsive pleading, according to the complaint. Dialect has also filed infringement suits against Bank of America N.A. and Microsoft Corp. based on other former VoiceBox patents.