Amazon.com Inc. is facing a patent infringement lawsuit over how it uses technology to process natural language in Alexa and other products.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) sued the company in federal court in Albany, N.Y., alleging Amazon is using RPI’s patented technology in its Echo products, Fire TV accessories, and Fire tablets.
RPI, which is located in Troy, N.Y., filed a similar lawsuit against Apple Inc. in 2016.( Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute v. Apple Inc., N.D.N.Y., No. 13-cv-833, order of dismissal 5/2/16 )
The latest suit could cost Amazon millions of dollars. Apple agreed to settle the 2016 action for $24.9 million. The settlement was listed in an SEC f orm filed by the Marathon Patent Group, a company that helps RPI profit from its patented inventions.
Amazon declined a comment comment request from Bloomberg Law.
The lawsuit claims Amazon infringed on a 2007 patent for natural language processing received by RPI Professor Cheng Hsu and an RPI doctoral candidate at the time, Veera Boonjing.
The May 8 suit also alleges that Amazon infringes on the patent by using a voice-based command system allowing users to ask questions or make commands for performing tasks.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, seeks a permanent injunction, treble damages, or the award of reasonable royalties.
The case is Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute v. Amazon.com Inc., N.D.N.Y., No. 18-cv-549, 5/8/18.
(Update with Amazon declining comment.)
To contact the reporter on this story: Gerald B. Silverman in Albany, N.Y. at gsilverman@bloomberglaw.com
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rebecca Baker at rbaker@bloomberglaw.com
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