The U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois has granted ClearOne’s request for a preliminary injunction preventing Shure Inc. from manufacturing, marketing, and selling the Shure MXA910 Ceiling Array Microphone for use in its “drop-ceiling mounting configuration.”
Update: Shure has posted a Q&A section on its website in regards to the ruling. https://www.shure.com/en-US/meta/legal/q-and-a-in-response-to-recent-us-court-ruling-on-shure-mxa910
The Court determined that such sales are likely to infringe ClearOne’s U.S. Patent No. 9,813,806 (the “Graham Patent”). The Graham Patent, entitled “Integrated beamforming microphone array and ceiling or wall tile,” covers, among other things, according to ClearOne, a beamforming microphone array integrated into a ceiling tile as a single unit. ClearOne’s beamforming microphone array ceiling tile incorporating the technology of the Graham Patent, the BMA CT, debuted earlier this year and is now shipping.
ClearOne sought the preliminary injunction from the Court as part of ongoing litigation to protect ClearOne’s intellectual property rights and rightful place in the market. As the Court noted in its order, “The public benefits when [the patent] system works, and suffers when patents are infringed, so it is in the public interest—in the long run—to protect valid patents.”
“This is an incredibly valuable ruling for ClearOne and its business. It validates the strength and importance of ClearOne’s intellectual property rights, and it stops Shure from further infringing those rights pending a full trial,” said Zee Hakimoglu, ClearOne Chair and CEO. “ClearOne remains committed to creating innovative solutions in installed audio conferencing and will vigorously enforce its patents.”
Shure released a statement regarding the recent development: "We are disappointed and disagree with the Court’s decision, which is not a final determination on this matter and we intend to immediately appeal. We continue to believe that the ‘806 patent is invalid and that we do not infringe on the ‘806 patent and we look forward to presenting the merits of our case to a jury."
The Court’s order also prevents Shure from encouraging others to use the Shure MXA910 beamforming microphone array in the “drop-ceiling mounting configuration” and “applies to Shure’s officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, as well as anyone who is in active concert or participation with those listed persons.”
Shure's statement also said "This injunction does not impact any existing products currently installed. Shure is committed to ensuring best-in-class MXA910 products remain available to its customers and is prepared to modify and supply the product in a way that is compliant with the Court’s order, as needed."
ClearOne believes that by granting the company's request, the Court acknowledged the strength of ClearOne’s position against Shure, declaring that “ClearOne has established that it is likely to succeed on the merits” of its infringement claims.
