Mobile Tech, Inc. d/b/a MTI

Company overview. Mobile Tech, Inc., which does business as MTI (also styled Mobile Technologies, Inc.), is a privately held manufacturer headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon, with additional offices in Hong Kong, Ireland, and London. Multiple sources date its founding to 1977 (some list 1979). It is not publicly traded. Historically private-equity backed — Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co. owned it until Vestar Capital Partners acquired it in August 2016 — and PitchBook currently lists its status as "Acquired/Merged" with a May 2024 acquisition date. I could not verify the identity of that acquirer in the sources reviewed. Headcount is consistently reported in the roughly 850–900 range; revenue estimates from third-party databases vary widely (roughly $90M to $250M) and are not audited figures.

Products / services. MTI builds retail and enterprise device-security hardware and software: tethered display and alarm systems for phones, tablets, and wearables (including the Freedom Micro and AirTether lines), smart locks and access control, RFID cabinet locks, tablet kiosks and enclosures (via its 2014 ArmorActive acquisition), self-service solutions, and an IoT retail platform marketed as MTI Connect. It also runs a services business — installation, preventive maintenance, field support, and a 24/7 contact center — serving retail, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing customers.

Patent-litigation posture. The tracked data shows one case, with MTI as defendant and zero as plaintiff, which is the profile of an operating company defending a suit rather than a patent assertion entity. The tracked matter, InVue Security Products Inc. v. Mobile Tech, Inc. d/b/a MTI (W.D.N.C.), is a competitor-versus-competitor dispute over retail merchandise-security technology, filed in InVue's home district rather than a plaintiff-friendly patent venue such as the Eastern District of Texas.

Context. Public dockets show a broader, multi-venue dispute: InVue sued MTI in the District of Oregon (2017 and 2019) on patents covering retractable alarming power cords, MTI filed declaratory-judgment actions against InVue in W.D.N.C., and the parties litigated before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Federal Circuit. Separately, Sennco Solutions accused MTI of trade-secret misappropriation relating to the Freedom Micro. These matters are not reflected as separate entries in the tracked case list.