US Patent Office Reconfirms Clickshare Patentability

Andrew Neale

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has reconfirmed the patentability of the ClickShare button and refused to invalidate Barco’s related US patent.

Early 2018, a US law firm, acting on behalf of an undisclosed party, had instituted a reexamination procedure with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in an attempt to invalidate Barco’s US patent 8.756.348 based on prior art allegedly demonstrating that the ClickShare button lacked novelty. The USPTO now released its final office action hereby rejecting the invalidation request and upholding the patentability of the ClickShare button.

You may not remember but back in 2017, US-based KanexPro agreed to cease the distribution and sale of its MyTurn wireless presentation system in Europe and the US after the Dutch court had authorised Barco to seize it at #ISE2017 – Ed.

In 2018, Barco had filed suit against Danish distributor Unit.dk for the sale of a wireless presentation system infringing its European ClickShare patent. The Danish Court recently granted Barco’s leave for a preliminary injunction to further sell this wireless presentation system in Denmark. Unit.DK has now entered into a settlement agreement under which it has agreed to pay Barco an undisclosed settlement amount and to cease the sale of its wireless presentation system. Meanwhile, the Dutch distributor Kerèn B.V. and UK based distributor Audio Visual Intelligence Ltd. also agreed to cease the sale of wireless presentation solutions which, in Barco’s belief, also infringe its European ClickShare patent.

We understand that Barco continues to closely monitor the wireless presentation market and to persistently enforce its intellectual property rights against companies where it believes, offers wireless presentation systems copying ClickShare’s unique features.

Consistent with this strategy, Barco has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Kindermann for sale of its Klick & Show wireless presentation system, and Delta Electronics for sale of its Vivitek NovoConnect wireless presentation system, in particular its LauncherPlus button. It expects that the courts will render a decision in the second half of 2019.

We understand that Barco is considering filing legal actions against other distributors in France and Germany who, in Barco’s belief, also sell wireless presentation systems that infringe its intellectual property rights.


Leave a Reply