MUNICH and SEPHANSKIRCHEN, Germany—ARRI today announced it is seeking review by the U.S. Patent Office of patents issued for what it describes are “already well know” and widely used technical advancements related to what calls “conventional lighting effect functionalities.”
“It is our view that these patents should not have [been] issued and are invalid, because the technical ‘advances’ they claim are not in fact new, but instead were already well known and in widespread use at the time of the alleged invention,” said Ivo Ivanovski, general manager of the ARRI lighting business unit, in a statement.
“So that we may continue to effectively offer our customers these conventional functionalities, we find ourselves in the position of having to initiate IPRs (Inter Partes Reviews) of existing U.S. patents, in order to have the U.S. Patent Office review their legal validity.”
Multiple manufacturers of lighting products use “conventional lighting effect functionalities” threatened by the alleged patent infringement, he said.
“We have to defend ourselves, including to protect our customers and the industry, against intellectual and industrial property rights that do not protect an innovation but instead improperly limit the available technical options,” he said in the statement.
ARRI did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the patents, who is alleging infringement and how products in the pipeline for delivery to customers are being affected. TVTech will update this story as more information becomes available.
More information is available on the ARRI website.
