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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

WACO DIVISION

INTERACTIVE PLAY DEVICES LLC, a 

Texas limited liability company,

 

 Plaintiff, 

v.

SPIN MASTER LTD., a foreign corporation,

 Defendant.

 CIVIL ACTION FILE NO.

 

 6:20-cv-00066

 JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

 

COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT

1. This is an action for patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271, et seq., by Interactive 

Play Devices LLC (“IPD”) against Spin Master, Ltd. (“Spin Master” or the “Defendant”) for 

infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,491,108 (the “108 Patent”). A true and correct copy of the 108 

Patent (also referred to as the “Ghaly Patent”) is attached hereto as Exhibit A. 

THE PARTIES

2. IPD is a limited liability company formed under the laws of Texas with its registered 

office address located in Austin, Texas. IPD is the owner by assignment of the Ghaly Patent.

3. Upon information and belief, Spin Master is a corporation existing under the laws of 

Canada with its headquarters located in Toronto, Ontario, CN. Since 2016, Spin Master has 

offered for sale, sold and/or is presently offering for sale and selling interactive robotic products 

for sale including the Hatchimals. These products are also referenced herein as the Infringing 

Products.

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4. Hatchimals are electronic toys encased in a disposable plastic housing that is designed to 

look like an egg. According to Spin Master, the user has to pick up the egg and rub the bottom to 

encourage the toy to start pecking at the egg to break through. The user can also tap gently on the 

shell and the toy will tap back. A user must interact with the egg for a certain period of time 

before the toy will respond and begin hatching. 

5. Once hatched, a Hatchimal is ready to play and grow. “Give your Hatchimal a name and 

raise it through 3 stages: from baby, to toddler, to kid. At each stage they’ll sing ‘Hatchy 

Birthday’! Hatchimals really walk, talk, dance, play games, and more.” 

https://spinmastersupport.helpshift.com/a/hatchimals/?s=general-faqs&f=what-is-ahatchimal&p=web

6. The Hatchimal includes at least one of a switch, a pressure switch and a sound activated 

sensor. For example, the Hatchimal detects when a user is rubbing the shell of the Hatchimal. 

The Hatchimal also responds to sound, such as clapping. 

7. Spin Master is in the business of selling and offering for sale in the United States, 

including through various retail stores (e.g., Target, Walmart) physically located in this judicial 

district, as well as intentionally selling into this State and this judicial district through various 

interactive web sites, including its own interactive web site (www.shop.spinmaster.com) the 

Infringing Products. 

8. Spin Master has therefore intentionally placed the Infringing Products into the stream of 

commerce knowing that they were to be offered for sale in Texas, including in this judicial 

district. Upon information and belief, this includes specific sales and offers for sale of 

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Infringing Products into Texas and into this judicial district through its own 

www.shop.spinmaster.com web site. 

PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND VENUE

9. This is an action for infringement of a United States patent arising under 35

U.S.C. §§ 271, 281, and 284–85, among others. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction 

of the action under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).

10. Spin Master has availed itself of the privilege of doing business in Texas, 

including in this judicial district. Upon information and belief, SpinMaster has regular 

and established places of business in Texas, including within this judicial district. 

11. Spin Master has furthermore hired employees who work in this judicial district 

who advance the sale of its products, including sales of the Infringing Products, by giving 

advice on store displays/planograms and assisting them with inventory management 

advice in order to minimize out of stocks. 

12. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Spin Master in this action because Spin 

Master has committed acts within the Western District of Texas giving rise to this action 

and has established minimum contacts with this forum such that the exercise of 

jurisdiction over Spin Master would not offend traditional notions of fair play and 

substantial justice. 

13. Spin Master, directly and through subsidiaries or intermediaries (including 

distributors, retailers, and others), has committed and continues to commit acts of 

infringement in this district by offering for sale and making sales of Infringing Products, 

and supporting the efforts of its retail customers to do the same.

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14. Venue is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400(b) because Spin Master 

has committed acts of infringement of the Ghaly Patent by offering for sale and selling 

Infringing Products into Texas and specifically into this judicial district on its interactive 

web Site, which offers or has offered the Infringing Products for sale, and which is 

accessible in this judicial district. 

15. Spin Master also derives benefits from its presence in the district, both physical

and online through its interactive web site, including but not limited to sales revenue 

received due to sales activity in this district. This revenue includes sales from its web 

site, other web sites selling its products, and sales by its retail partners with stores located 

in this judicial district.

16. Spin Master is subject to this Court’s specific and general personal jurisdiction 

under due process and/or the Texas Long Arm Statute due at least to its substantial 

business in this forum, including: (i) at least a portion of the infringements alleged herein; 

and (ii) regularly doing or soliciting business, engaging in other persistent courses of 

conduct in Texas, and/or deriving substantial revenue from goods and services provided 

to individuals in Texas, including this district.

COUNT I

(Infringement of the 108 Patent)

17. Count I incorporates the contents of the preceding paragraphs 1-16 as if restated

fully herein.

18. Spin Master makes, sells and offers for sale the Infringing Products, including 

Pengualas, Draggles, Owlicorns, Burtles, and Bearakeets, among others. Unless 

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otherwise noted, all of these varieties possess the same features, functions and 

components described herein with respect to the 108 Patent. 

19. Each of the Hatchimals has a protective exterior housing with a motor and 

gearbox (connected to wheels located under the bottom of the exterior housing, not 

visible in the picture below), interior computer components (e.g., a circuit board 

containing a microprocessor and memory), and wires connecting the computer 

components to external sensors and the gearbox as illustrated by the following picture of 

a disassembled Hatchimal.

http://blog.tekkies.co.uk/2017/02/hatchimal-dissasembly.html

20. Among the interactions between user and Hatchimal is teaching the Hatchimal to 

talk and to walk. According to SpinMaster:

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https://spinmastersupport.helpshift.com/a/hatchimals/?p=web&s=after-hatchingfaqs&f=how-do-i-teach-my-hatchimal-to-talk&l=en

https://spinmastersupport.helpshift.com/a/hatchimals/?p=web&s=after-hatchingfaqs&f=how-do-i-teach-my-hatchimal-to-walk&l=en

21. The Hatchimal tracks a certain amount of interaction with a user before it can 

proceed to a next stage to learn new activities. Accordingly, it processes a user’s 

responses to determine the level of interaction the user has engaged in with the 

Hatchimal. This is illustrated by the following page from the Hatchimals’ instruction 

manual:

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22. According to the instruction manual, the Hatchimal uses the information it 

obtains from interacting with a user to progress to a next stage, such as the toddler stage, 

wherein the Hatchimal learns different activities, such as talking, walking and dancing. 

23. Each of the Hatchimals is therefore an interactive play device for interacting 

between the device and the user comprising:

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a housing,

a microprocessor with a computer-readable medium encoded with a 

computer program to control the operation of the device,

a computer program segment that generates a plurality of interactions 

for providing interactive effects with the user,

at least one of a switch, a pressure switch, a sound activated sensor, a 

voice activated module, a speech recognition module, a magnetic 

sensor, a light activated sensor, a magnetic sensor, a proximity sensor, 

a switch on a remote control apparatus, and an accessory that can be 

plugged into the device to enable a user to interact with the device,

computer memory to store information related to user's responses to 

interactions, a computer program segment that processes user's 

responses to derive knowledge information pertaining to how the user 

has interacted with the device, and

a computer program segment that employs said knowledge 

information to control the device to operate in a distinct manner that is 

different from the operation of a similar device with a different 

knowledge information.

24. Because all elements of at least one claim of the 108 Patent are present in each of the 

Hatchimals, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, Spin Master’s past and present 

sales and offers for sale of the Hachimals infringe at least one claim of the 108 Patent.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, IPD respectfully requests the Court to enter judgment as follows:

A. That Defendant has directly and indirectly infringed the Ghaly Patent;

B. That Defendant be ordered to pay damages adequate to compensate IPD for its infringement 

of the Ghaly Patent, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty, together with prejudgment 

and post-judgment interest thereon;

C. That Defendant be ordered to account for any post-verdict infringement and pay no less than a 

reasonable royalty, together with interest, thereon;

D. That IPD be granted such other and additional relief as the Court deems just and

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proper.

Jury Demand

IPD hereby demands a jury trial as to all issues so triable.

DATED this 29th day of January 2020.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

By: /s/_John A. Powell_______ 

John A. "Andy" Powell

State Bar No. 24029775

USPTO Reg. No. 71,533

powell@namanhowell.com

John P. Palmer

State Bar No. 15430600

palmer@namanhowell.com

Jacqueline P. Altman 

State Bar No. 24087010

jaltman@namanhowell.com

NAMAN HOWELL SMITH & LEE, PLLC

400 Austin Ave., Suite 800

Waco, Texas 76701

Tel.: (254) 755-4100

Fax: (254) 754-6331

LOCAL COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

Steven G. Hill, Georgia Bar No. 354658

(pro hac vice admission to be submitted)

HILL, KERTSCHER & WHARTON, LLP

3350 Riverwood Parkway

Atlanta, Georgia 30339

Telephone: (770) 953-0995

Facsimile: (770) 953-1358 

Email: sgh@hkw-law.com

LEAD COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

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