SEATTLE — The law firm Rylander & Associates PC recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of Miller Mendel Inc. against the Anna, Texas, Police Department, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent 10,043,188 B2 (the ‘188 Patent) for a “Background Investigation Management Service,” the firm said in a news release. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, alleged that the city of Anna and the Anna Police Department, are infringing the patent through their use of the Guardian Alliance Technologies investigation software platform.
The lawsuit is the fourth filed for patent infringement related to the Guardian Alliance Technologies background software. The other three lawsuits have been filed in federal district courts of Alaska, Oklahoma, and Oregon.
In 2020, legal counsel for Guardian filed a petition for an “Inter Partes Review” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, asserting that MMI’s 10043188 patent, covering certain features and functionality of the eSOPH system, are invalid. The patent office rejected Guardian’s petition.
Guardian appealed the decision, and, in response, the patent office issued another decision denying Guardian’s appeal. Guardian then filed a request for a Procedural Opinion Panel, which was also denied.
On July 22, 2021, Guardian filed a “Petitioner’s Request for Extension of Time” to file a federal circuit appeal, which the patent office also denied. Guardian’s filings were reviewed and decided by a panel of three qualified patent office judges.