Aldi Seeks Ruling Against Open Source Patent Infringement Claims

Aldi Inc. filed a preemptive federal lawsuit seeking to stop a prolific patent monetization company’s claims over the grocer’s allegedly infringing use of open-source software.

Intellectual Ventures’ allegations are based on Aldi’s routine use of open-source tools and target off-the-shelf functionalities rather than any Aldi-developed product, according to the declaratory judgment lawsuit filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the District of Delaware.

IV’s claims are part of a systematical monetization campaign “to extract payments from companies based on their market presence and revenue, not based on any individualized assessment of infringement,” according to the complaint, noting IV’s lawsuits ...