Defendant

Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH

1 case as defendant.

Cases
1
Active
0
1 closed
Filed
2013
Top venue
ITC
1 case

Company profile

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Company overview. Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH, commonly known as Becker, is a German automotive-electronics manufacturer headquartered at Becker-Göring-Straße 16, Karlsbad (Baden-Württemberg), near Karlsruhe. The business traces to a Pforzheim repair workshop founded by Max Egon Becker and was formally established in 1949 as a car-radio maker; it became part of Harman International Industries in 1995. It is now a subsidiary within Harman's automotive division, and Harman International has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics since Samsung's ~$8 billion acquisition closed on 10 March 2017. Wikipedia lists FY2013/14 revenue of roughly €1.38 billion and about 2,000 employees for the entity, though those figures are dated; parent Harman reports roughly 30,000 employees and ~$10.9–11 billion in revenue in recent years. Harman Becker itself is not publicly traded.

Products / operations. It is a Tier 1 automotive supplier of in-vehicle electronics: infotainment and connected-car head units, navigation systems, human-machine interfaces, voice control, telematics and phone integration, and branded automotive audio/entertainment systems. Its historical customer base includes Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. This is an operating company with real products, not a patent-assertion entity.

Patent-litigation posture. The database shows exactly one tracked matter, in which Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH appears as a defendant and zero as plaintiff — the classic signature of an operating company being pulled into someone else's dispute. The case is an ITC Section 337 investigation (337-TA-909, Certain Non-Volatile Memory Devices and Products Containing Same), not a district-court suit, so no Eastern District of Texas venue issue applies.

Notable case context. In Macronix International Co., Ltd. et al. v. Spansion, Inc. et al. (complaint filed 27 December 2013; investigation instituted 29 January 2014), Macronix asserted three non-volatile-memory patents against Spansion and named Spansion's downstream customers — including Harman International Industries, Harman Becker Automotive Systems, Inc. and Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH — as respondents. The dispute reflects a flash-memory supplier conflict; Harman Becker's involvement stems from memory chips incorporated into its infotainment products, not from its own patent assertions. No merits determination is implied here.

Macronix International Co., Ltd. et al. v. Spansion, Inc. et al.

terminated by settlement
Docket:
337-TA-909
Filed:
2013-12-27

Macronix entities filed a Section 337 complaint against Spansion entities and downstream respondents alleging infringement of US 6,100,557 (claims 1-3, 7, and 9-13) and other patents. The investigation was terminated by the January 2015 global settlement before any exclusion order issued.