LITTLETON, Colo. -

PassTime recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office invalidated the entirety of a patent owned by LunarEye that was the subject of a patent lawsuit claiming infringement by certain PassTime products.

The patent, No. 6,484,035, had claimed an apparatus and method for triggerable location reporting and listed Alvin C. Allen, Jr. (also known as Chuck Allen) as the alleged inventor.

In its opinion on Feb. 2, PassTime highlighted that a panel of three judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board for the United States Patent and Trademark Office ruled that PassTime “has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that claims 1–24 of the ’035 patent are unpatentable” and entered an order that “claims 1–24 of U.S. Patent No. 6,484,035 B2 are held unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103.” 

Back on Sept. 28, PassTime indicated the Patent Trial and Appeal Board had previously found that claim No. 3 of the patent was invalid, which had been the sole subject of a prior validity challenge by PassTime.

 “We are pleased to have prevailed both times we have sought relief from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board on this invalid patent, which we had considered to have been used for filing a frivolous suit,” PassTime chief executive officer and founder Stan Schwarz

“We plan in the future to contemplate our options regarding the actions taken so far by Chuck Allen, LunarEye, and its counsel,” Schwarz continued.

In public filings, PassTime noted LunarEye stated that it intends to appeal the decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Stewart Mesher of Conley Rose, legal counsel in the patent lawsuit, stated that “we understand that our client is pleased with the result, and we look forward to it being affirmed should LunarEye appeal it.”

PassTime added the patent lawsuit, Case 9:13-cv-00091 pending in the Eastern District of Texas, is on hold pending the outcome of any appeals that LunarEye continues to pursue.