KeepTruckin Wins Two Decisions at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KeepTruckin, the leader in fleet management technology, announced today that it has won two decisions before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) over claims made by Innovative Global Systems, a non-practicing entity (NPE) that was established as a holding company to license intellectual property.

The PTAB ruled in favor of the company in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings, finding all challenged claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,032,277 unpatentable. This ruling follows a July 21, 2021 PTAB decision finding all challenged claims of U.S. Patent No. 10,157,384 unpatentable. Innovative Global Systems, LLC asserted the so-called “ELD patents” against KeepTruckin on April 8, 2019.

“KT respects the intellectual property rights of others, but we will vigorously fight all meritless claims brought by non-practicing entities,” said KeepTruckin co-founder and CEO Shoaib Makani.

Innovative Global Systems claimed KeepTruckin’s Electronic Logging Device, the Vehicle Gateway, infringed its “ELD patents.” In March 2020, KeepTruckin responded, filing IPR petitions challenging all asserted claims. The petitions argued that the claims were invalid as obvious in light of several patent references and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. The PTAB agreed, finding claims 1 - 13 of the ‘277 patent and claims 1-11 and 14-20 of the ‘384 patent unpatentable.

“The decision by the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board confirms KeepTruckin’s belief that the claimed inventions of these patents were already well known when the patents were filed,” said Shu White, General Counsel of KeepTruckin.

KeepTruckin was represented in both IPRs by Michael Zinna and David Lindenbaum of Kelley Drye & Warren.

“We thank our PTAB panel for the time and effort it put into authoring over 100 pages across two Final Written Decisions in our favor,” said Michael Zinna, Kelley Drye. “I also commend KeepTruckin for its commitment to vigorously defending itself against NPEs. While it might take less time and effort to settle disputes like this one, KeepTruckin will not pay for questionable patents. It would rather invest in seeing those patents get extinguished.”

About KeepTruckin:

KeepTruckin is the leader in fleet management technology. KeepTruckin’s cutting-edge hardware and cloud-based software help companies improve the safety and efficiency of their operations. With one platform spanning video-based driver safety, Electronic Logging Device (ELD) compliance, GPS tracking, dispatch, and fuel and maintenance, KeepTruckin provides an integrated fleet management system that scales to meet the needs of over one million drivers and 95,000 customers, from small trucking companies to Fortune 500 enterprises.

Founded in 2013, KeepTruckin has over 2,400 employees and has raised $450 million from GV (formerly Google Ventures), Index Ventures, IVP, Scale Venture Partners, Greenoaks, G2 Venture Partners, and other leading investors. To learn more about KeepTruckin, visit: KeepTruckin.com.