GTL successfully challenges Securus patent claims before PTAB

RESTON, Va., Sept. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on Friday issued final written decisions granting Global Tel*Link's request to invalidate two Securus Technologies patents, including the "crown jewel" of Securus' patent portfolio.

The Board's decision invalidated centralized call processing patents---the core of Securus' portfolio--- which were used as centerpieces in Securus' longstanding strategy to intimidate competitors into settling patent lawsuits and paying tens of millions in license fees.  The sweeping decisions, in which all claims of both patents were invalidated, also signals an end to existing patent claims against GTL and will prevent any new suits related to these patents, opening the market to greater competition.

Securus has filed at least 12 lawsuits against 19 industry competitors over the course of the past 15 years, stifling innovation and creating confusion for customers and vendors alike.

"This is a great victory for GTL and the industry," said GTL CEO Brian Oliver. "Securus used these patents and others for years to impose a virtual toll booth on our industry.  In the end, however, the PTAB recognized that Securus' patents didn't cover any genuine invention."

The PTAB ruling also detailed "incorrect" statements of fact Securus made to patent officials while seeking approval for one of the invalidated patents, false statements that ultimately played a role in leading the Patent Office to issue the patent.  

Friday's decisions are the first Final Written Orders issued from the 19 patent petitions GTL filed at the PTAB Between March 2014 and May 2015, in which GTL targeted a broad cross section of the Securus portfolio, alleging that the Securus patents mimic available consumer products, like Apple's FaceTime.  The rulings also signal the imminent demise of Securus' pending claim in a Dallas federal court that GTL infringed the invalidated patents.   

"You cannot deceive your way to innovation," said Oliver.  This decision unmasks Securus for what GTL has long said it is---a patent predator, not an innovator," Oliver continued. "They filed patents on material that others had invented or was obvious to everyone working in the industry, called it 'innovation' and tried to cash in.  It was a hoax." 

"Since GTL took up the fight against these tactics two years ago, Securus has not filed a single new patent case against another industry competitor. Securus will now have to compete based on technology alone. We wish them luck."

About Global Tel*Link

GTL is the leading provider of integrated correctional technology solutions, delivering financial value, security, and ease of operation to our customers through visionary products and solutions at the forefront of corrections innovation. As a trusted correctional industry leader, GTL provides service to approximately fifty percent of inmates nationwide, including service to 33 state departments of corrections, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 33 of the largest city/county facilities. GTL is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with more than 10 regional offices across the country. To find out more about GTL, please visit our website www.gtl.net.

SOURCE GTL