accessiBe and AudioEye: competitors in court (2020–2022)

analysisAudioEye, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed on May 20, 2005 and based in Tucson, Arizona, whose shares have been listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market as AEYE since September 4, 2018. It competes with accessiBe in web accessibility and described competition in its market as intense in its 2019 annual report. ^{1 2}

analysisAudioEye first sued accessiBe Ltd. in the Austin division of the Western District of Texas on September 4, 2020 (No. 1:20-cv-00924), voluntarily dismissed that case on October 26, 2020 and refiled it in Waco the same day (No. 6:20-cv-00997). Its second amended complaint of December 29, 2020 alleged that accessiBe infringed nine related patents, and brought Lanham Act claims for false advertising and product disparagement and five New York law claims, including slander and tortious interference, over statements accessiBe allegedly made about its own and AudioEye's products, among them to companies in western New York; it also alleged that accessiBe gave its strategic partners BigCommerce and Volusion financial incentives to sell its tool. These were a competitor's allegations, and no court decided them on the merits. accessiBe answered a second AudioEye complaint in September 2021 with a counterclaim and a jury demand and in June 2022 sued AudioEye for patent infringement in Delaware; the parties announced a global settlement on October 24, 2022, and all three suits were dismissed without prejudice. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

analysisaccessiBe sought to move the Waco case to the Western District of New York. When the district court refused, it petitioned the Federal Circuit for mandamus (No. 22-113); on December 6, 2021 the Federal Circuit denied the petition without prejudice to refiling after a request for reconsideration, and on March 9, 2022 Judge Alan D. Albright granted reconsideration and transferred the case, which continued as No. 6:22-cv-06116 until November 1, 2022; other courts have since cited the Federal Circuit order on transfer law. AudioEye filed a second suit in Waco on July 14, 2021 (No. 6:21-cv-00726); on September 30, 2021 accessiBe answered the amended complaint, demanded a jury and filed a counterclaim, and on June 16, 2022 accessiBe Ltd. sued AudioEye for patent infringement in the District of Delaware (No. 1:22-cv-00792). ^{1 3 2 5}

analysisaccessiBe also challenged AudioEye patents before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in ten inter partes reviews, from IPR2021-00797 to IPR2022-01493, including IPR2022-00227 against U.S. Patent No. 10,860,173. On October 24, 2022 the companies announced a global settlement of all pending legal disputes, with mutual covenants not to sue, continued freedom to operate for both companies and their customers and partners, and a framework for avoiding future disputes. On October 27 they jointly asked the Board to terminate the reviews, telling it that they had settled on October 25, that the settlement agreement was filed under seal as confidential business information and that the related New York case would be dismissed. The Delaware case was closed on a stipulation on October 26, 2022, and AudioEye's 2022 annual report states that the three suits were dismissed without prejudice; the financial terms were not disclosed. ^{1 2 3 4}