Illinois company sues Otter over alleged patent infringement

FORT COLLINS — In what might be a turnabout in the world of protecting patents, Fort Collins-based Otter Products LLC, which often has had to file suit to protect its patents, has been sued by an Illinois company that contends the opposite.

Voltstar Technologies Inc. of Barrington, Illinois, claims in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Colorado that Otter is violating patents that it controls for compact chargers useful for charging cell phones.

The lawsuit claims that Otter has engaged in the “unauthorized manufacture, use, sale, offer to sell and importation … of products” that Voltstar claims under U.S. patent law. The claim seeks permanent injunctive relief and monetary damages, including treble damages if the court determines the violation to be “willful, wanton and deliberate.”

The items in question are Otter’s Premium Pro Wall Charger and the Otterbox Wireless Charging Pad.

The products contain technology that automatically stops charging when a product reaches charged status.

Otter has filed multiple lawsuits over the years to protect its patents, including one 10 years ago. Otter won a $2 million patent infringement judgment against a company that was selling counterfeit phone cases.  And just a couple of years ago, it fought an attempt to infringe on an arrangement it had with PopSockets LLC. 

An internet search for Voltstar Technologies found numerous reports of patent infringement lawsuits filed against other manufacturers and distributors such as Amazon.

A message sent to Otter Products was not answered as of publication time.

The case is Voltstar Technologies Inc. v. Otter Products LLC, case number 23-cv-02669 filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

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