On Tuesday, Network Apps LLC sued AT&T Inc for $1.35 billion, accusing the telecom of stealing its patented “twinning” technology, reported Reuters. The tech allows smart devices like watches and tablets to respond to phone calls from a user’s smartphone.
Network Apps claims AT&T abandoned a joint partnership in 2014, after realizing it would owe a “fortune” in royalties because the market for smart devices was exploding. The lawsuit comes after AT&T incorporated the tech on its NumberSync product a year after ending the agreement with Network Apps.
According to a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, NumberSync uses the “same concept and architecture” as Network Apps tech with only “cosmetic changes.” Reuters reported the same “inventors” of NumberSync worked with Network Apps previously.
Network Apps’ founders, John Wantz and Kyle Schei, in a joint statement, said, “AT&T’s decision to steal our technology” has forced the company to scale back operations significantly. AT&T says Network Apps filed a lawsuit regarding the same matter in 2017, which was dismissed.
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