Brooks Kushman Secures Federal Circuit Affirmance for Ford Motor Company in Patent Dispute, Upholding PTAB Rulings that the Asserted Automobile Safety Patents are Unpatentable

ROYAL OAK, Michigan — Brooks Kushman successfully secured affirmance from the Federal Circuit on three Inter Partes Review (IPR) decisions that effectively dismantle patent claims brought against Ford Motor Company by Safe Driving Technologies. Safe Driving’s 2021 lawsuit in the Delaware District Court alleged Ford infringed on patents covering safety-focused telematics technology aimed at reducing driver distraction by integrating communication and entertainment features. Brooks Kushman’s defense strategy for Ford included filing four IPRs with the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to challenge the validity of Safe Driving’s patents. The IPR petitions were highly successful, with the PTAB rendering 43 of the 44 claims unpatentable across three patents, while Safe Driving voluntarily dedicated the challenged claims of the fourth patent to the public—a decisive outcome that invalidated virtually all assertions in the case.

In addition to its PTAB victories, Brooks Kushman obtained a stay of the district court proceedings while the IPRs were under review, achieving substantial cost savings for Ford. With the Federal Circuit’s affirmance on November 8, 2024, Brooks Kushman’s team has once again demonstrated its expertise in defending clients against aggressive patent claims, and reinforced Ford’s leadership in automotive safety innovation.