SEATTLE, Jan. 14, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rylander & Associates PC filed a federal complaint on behalf of Miller Mendel, Inc. against the City of Anna, Texas, Police Department in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleging infringement of U.S. Patent 10,043,188 B2 (the ‘188 Patent) for a “Background Investigation Management Service”. The lawsuit alleges that the City of Anna, Texas and the Anna Police Department are infringing the ‘188 Patent through its use of the Guardian Alliance Technologies investigation software platform.
The patent infringement lawsuit filed against the City of Anna is the fourth (4th) lawsuit filed for patent infringement related to the Guardian Alliance Technologies background software. The other three patent infringement lawsuits have been filed in federal district courts of Alaska, Oklahoma and Oregon.
Miller Mendel’s Patents are Strong
In 2020, legal counsel for Guardian filed a petition for an “Inter Partes Review” (“IPR”) with the USPTO, asserting the MMI’s 10043188 patent covering certain features and functionality of the eSOPH system are invalid. The USPTO rejected Guardian’s IPR petition. Guardian appealed the USPTO’s decision and, in response, the USPTO issued another decision denying Guardian’s appeal. Guardian then filed a request for a USPTO Procedural Opinion Panel, which was also denied. On July 22, 2021, Guardian field a “Petitioner’s Request for Extension of Time” to file a Federal Circuit appeal, which the USPTO also denied. The USPTO IPR filings by Guardian were reviewed and decided by a panel of three qualified USPTO judges.
In 2021, Miller Mendel’s President and CEO drafted an open letter further discussing the patent infringement matter along with other serious, public concerns related to the Guardian background software.
About Miller Mendel
Miller Mendel, Inc. (“MMI”) creates, sells and supports its software technology solutions for city, county, state and federal public safety agencies. MMI’s primary focus is to turn past practices used by city, county, state and federal government agencies into modern, efficient and cost-effective digital solutions.
MMI is known for creating category-leading systems and providing responsive, exceptional support to all our clients. MMI places great pride in straightforward and transparent operational practices that foster a high level of respect and praise from our government clients.
MMI’s first and flagship service is eSOPH. eSOPH is a cloud-based software system designed specifically for public agencies who must process in-depth pre-employment background investigations on their applicants. eSOPH has been credited with cutting the time it takes to process a pre-employment background investigation by more than 50%, saving agencies significant time and money and allowing applicants to be hired more quickly.
MMI is a minority owned, small business. At Miller Mendel, diversity in the workplace means empowering a workforce that is inclusive of a broad range of human qualities. Workplace diversity is both a moral imperative and business strength, essential to providing quality support and services to our clients. Our goal is to attract, develop and retain highly skilled and talented individuals across the company who best reflect the diversity of clients.