Defendant
2 cases as defendant.
Circle K Stores, Inc. is a multinational chain of convenience stores founded in El Paso, Texas, in 1951. It operates as a subsidiary of its Canadian parent company, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Inc. (TSX: ATD), which acquired Circle K in 2003. While its parent company is headquartered in Laval, Quebec, Circle K's U.S. operations are based in Tempe, Arizona. Alimentation Couche-Tard is a major global retailer with approximately 149,000 employees and reported revenue of $72.86 billion in 2025. The Circle K brand itself has a global presence, with more than 14,800 stores in over 25 countries.
Circle K is an operating company in the convenience retail and fuel station industry. Its stores offer a wide range of products and services, including fuel, car washes, and in-store ATMs. Inside the stores, customers can find private-label and branded products, such as its signature "Polar Pop" fountain drinks, coffee, hot foods like hot dogs and sandwiches, and a variety of snacks, beverages, and everyday grocery items. The company focuses on providing quick, convenient solutions for customers on the go.
In patent litigation, Circle K has been a defendant, not a plaintiff. The company has been named as a defendant in two tracked patent infringement lawsuits, both filed by the same entity, Alpha Modus, Corp. This posture is consistent with that of a large operating company defending its business practices against patent assertions. Both of the suits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, a venue known for patent litigation.
The cases against Circle K were filed on April 24, 2026, by Alpha Modus, Corp., a subsidiary of publicly-traded Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. Alpha Modus describes itself as a retail technology company and has filed numerous similar patent lawsuits against other major retailers, such as H&M and Lowe's, often in the same Texas court. The patents asserted in the Circle K suits reportedly relate to technologies including real-time consumer behavior analysis, AI-driven personalization, intelligent inventory systems, and checkout technologies.
Patent infringement lawsuit filed by Alpha Modus, Corp. as part of a broad litigation campaign asserting its patent covering in-store customer monitoring and analysis technologies. The case is pending in the Eastern District of Texas.
As part of a second phase of its enforcement campaign announced on April 24, 2026, Alpha Modus filed a suit against Circle K in the Eastern District of Texas.