On June 17, 2025, Minotaur Systems LLC (“Minotaur”) filed suit against Blink Charging Company (“Blink”) alleging infringement of its electric vehicle charge monitoring patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,417,402 (“the ’402 patent”). Minotaur Sys. LLC v. Blink Charging Co., Case No. 8:25-cv-01941, Dkt. No. 1 (D. Md. June 17, 2025).
Minotaur filed at least four other cases asserting the ’402 patent, one of which has been dismissed. Minotaur Sys. LLC v. Electrify Am. LLC, Case No. 1:25-cv-01025, Dkt. No. 1 (D. Va. June 16, 2025) (Complaint); Minotaur Sys. LLC v. Ev Dot Energy LTD, Case No. 2:24-cv-00639, Dkt. No. 1 (E.D. Tex. June 16, 2025) (Complaint); Minotaur Sys. LLC v. Elmec Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-00638, Dkt. No. 1 (E.D. Tex. June 16, 2025) (Complaint); Minotaur Sys. LLC v. Samsara Networks Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-00353, Dkt. No. 1 (D. Del. Mar. 19, 2024) (Complaint); see also id., Dkt. No. 13 (Minotaur’s Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on September 11, 2024). There appears to be no record of any challenges to the ’402 patent before the PTAB to date.
The ’402 patent, titled “Monitoring of Power Charging in Vehicle,” purports to provide “a device which can track the amount of energy used to charge an electric vehicle in a specific location.” The ’402 patent, 1:35-37. The patent discusses government incentive programs to encourage use of electric vehicles, including “programs which allow people to receive a discount or other credit for electricity they use to energy [sic] their electric cars.” Id. at 1:12-17. According to the patent, because electric cars can be charged at any location, there is a need for a device capable of differentiating “between energy used for charging the vehicle and energy used for other purposes.” Id. at 1:18-31. The purported invention can “associate the amount of energy charged with the location where the energy was charged, and report this information to a data collection unit” to then qualify that energy for incentive programs. Id. at 1:37-42.
Specifically, in Figure 1 below, the patent describes an “energy meter unit 14” that “can be placed inside the vehicle 12” to monitor energy received from a charging station or energy source 19 used to charge the battery 16.” Id. at 1:55-60.
The ’402 patent, Fig. 1. According to the patent, the energy meter unit 14 can communicate with “GPS satellites 26 [to determine] the location of the vehicle 12 at any given time,” and with “a data collection unit 24” to send stored data. Id. at 2:1-9.
The ’402 patent claims that, during charging, the energy meter unit 14 may monitor the energy level of the battery, the amount of energy delivered by the energy source, total energy used in the charging session, energy stored in the battery, “or any other desired energy statistic.” The ’402 patent, 2:34-41. Further according to the patent, the energy meter unit 14 may determine and record information identifying the vehicle, and based on that information, may associate the energy supplied during charging with the identified vehicle. Id. at 2:42-54.
Claim 1 of the ’402 patent recites:
An energy meter for an electric vehicle comprising;
a location-determining system for determining a current location of the vehicle;
an energy meter for measuring a charge energy supplied to a battery on the vehicle; and
a processor receiving the current location and measure of energy charging the battery and associating the measure of charge energy supplied to the battery with the location at which the battery was supplied with the charge energy.
Minotaur identifies Blink’s “Blink Charging Mobile App” as an Accused Instrumentality, and alleges that the app “enables real-time monitoring of charging status of an electric vehicle (EV) [and] detects current location of the EV where the EV is plugged in to a charger.” Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 2 (Infringement chart).
Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 3.
Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 5.
Minotaur alleges that the Blink Charging Mobile App “enables monitoring of the energy consumed by the EV, while the EV is charging.” Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 7.
Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 8.
Minotaur also alleges that the Blink Charging Mobile App “enables real-time monitoring of the charging status of an electric vehicle (EV). . . including the percentage of completed or remaining, while the EV is charging.” Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 12.
Minotaur Sys., Dkt. No. 1-2, 13.