US court backs Park Assist in patent dispute with airport and operator

Parking guidance technology developer Park Assist is claiming a second victory in a patent infringement dispute being heard in the United States.

Last year Park Assist launched a legal suit against the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority and Ace Parking Management for alleged infringement of its Patent 9,594,956, which describes a method for managing a car park based on intelligent imaging.

On 30 January US District Judge Roger T Benitez issued an Order ruling in Park Assist’s favour by denying Ace Parking Management’s motion for sanctions against Park Assist.
Ace’s motion had claimed that Park Assist’s patent infringement action against it was unfounded and did not have a reasonable basis.

In denying Ace’s motion, Judge Benitez noted that both the original and amended complaints by Park Assist for patent infringement “evince a thorough pre-filing analysis by Park Assist and its counsel”. He found this to be “a good faith, informed comparison” including by comparing the patent claims to the Airport Parking System.

Judge Benitez concluded that Ace Parking’s Rule 11 motion “lacked merit” and found it notable that Ace’s co-defendant, the airport authority, did not join in Ace Parking’s motion. This ruling means that Park Assist now has the option to seek all its fees for having to oppose the failed Ace motion.

The company said: “This is the second consecutive substantive merits motion on which Park Assist has prevailed. After Park Assist initiated the infringement action, the airport and Ace moved to dismiss Park Assist’s case by attacking the patent’s validity. That motion was denied in August 2019. With the court now having rejected both motions, the infringement action against the airport and Ace will continue.”