UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

WACO DIVISION

BCS SOFTWARE, LLC,

Plaintiff

v.

ITRON, INC.,

Defendant

Case No.

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT

Plaintiff BCS Software, LLC (“Plaintiff” or “BCS”) hereby files this Original Complaint 

for Patent Infringement against Defendant Itron, Inc., and alleges, on information and belief, as 

follows:

THE PARTIES

1. BCS Software, LLC is a limited liability company organized and existing under the laws 

of the State of Texas with its principal place of business in Austin, Texas.

2. Upon information and belief, Defendant Itron, Inc. (“Defendant” or “Itron”) is a 

Washington State corporation having multiple regular and established places of business located 

within this judicial district at: (i) 1250 South Capital of Texas Highway, Building 3, Suite 300, 

Austin, Texas 78746; and (ii) 300 Convent Street, Suite 1200, San Antonio, Texas 78205. Itron 

has appointed National Registered Agents, Inc., located at 1999 Bryan Street, Suite 900, Dallas, 

Texas 75201-3136, as its agent for service of process in Texas. Notably, the Austin, Texas 

location is identified by Itron as a “Key Worldwide Location.”

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Source: https://www.itron.com/na/company/who-we-are/locations?tag=key.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

3. This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. This 

Court has subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).

4. Defendant has committed acts of infringement in this judicial district.

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5. On information and belief, Defendant maintains regular and systematic business interests 

in this district and throughout the State of Texas. Indeed, one of Defendant’s “key worldwide 

locations” is located in this district. Moreover, Defendant maintains a second location in this 

district in San Antonio, Texas.

6. On information and belief, the Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant because 

Defendant has committed, and continues to commit, acts of infringement in the state of Texas, 

has conducted business in the state of Texas, and/or has engaged in continuous and systematic 

activities in the state of Texas.

7. On information and belief, Defendant’s instrumentalities that are alleged herein to 

infringe were and continue to be used, imported, offered for sale, and/or sold in the Western

District of Texas.

8. On information and belief, Defendant voluntarily conducts business and solicits

customers in the State of Texas, including customers within this District, and generates

substantial revenue from customers located within this district and from the acts of infringement 

as carried out in this district. As such, the exercise of jurisdiction over Defendant would not 

offend the traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.

9. Venue is proper in the Western District of Texas pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). 

NOTICE OF BCS’ PATENTS

10. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,240,421 entitled “System, software and 

apparatus for organizing, storing and retrieving information from a computer database.” A copy 

may be obtained at: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6240421B1/en?oq=6240421.

11. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,421,821 entitled “Flow chart-based 

programming method and system for object-oriented languages.” A copy may be obtained at:

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ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 4

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6421821B1/en?oq=6421821.

12. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,438,535 entitled “Relational database 

method for accessing information useful for the manufacture of, to interconnect nodes in, to 

repair and to maintain product and system units.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6438535B1/en?oq=6438535.

13. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,658,377 entitled “Method and system 

for text analysis based on the tagging, processing, and/or reformatting of the input text.” A copy 

may be obtained at: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6658377B1/en?oq=6658377.

14. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,662,179 entitled “Relational database 

method for accessing information useful for the manufacture of, to interconnect nodes in, to 

repair and to maintain product and system units.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US6662179B2/en?oq=6662179.

15. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,895,502 entitled “Method and system 

for securely displaying and confirming request to perform operation on host computer.” A copy 

may be obtained at: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6895502B1/en?oq=6895502.

16. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,200,760 entitled “System for 

persistently encrypting critical software data to control the operation of an executable software 

program.” A copy may be obtained at: 

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7200760B2/en?oq=7200760

17. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,302,612 entitled “High level 

operational support system.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7302612B2/en?oq=7302612.

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18. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,533,301 entitled “High level 

operational support system.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7533301B2/en?oq=7533301.

19. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,730,129 entitled “Collaborative 

communication platforms.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7730129B2/en?oq=7730129.

20. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,774,296 entitled “Relational database 

method for accessing information useful for the manufacture of, to interconnect nodes in, to 

repair and to maintain product and system units.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7774296B2/en?oq=7774296.

21. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,840,893 entitled “Display and 

manipulation of web page-based search results.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7840893B2/en?oq=7840893.

22. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,890,809 entitled “High level 

operational support system.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7890809B2/en?oq=7890809.

23. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,895,282 entitled “Internal electronic 

mail system and method for the same.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7895282B1/en?oq=7895282.”

24. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,996,464 entitled “Method and system 

for providing a user directory.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7996464B1/en?oq=7996464.

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25. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 7,996,469 entitled “Method and system 

for sharing files over networks.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US7996469B1/en?oq=7996469.

26. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,171,081 entitled “Internal electronic 

mail within a collaborative communication system.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8171081B1/en?oq=8171081.

27. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,176,123 entitled “Collaborative 

communication platforms.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8176123B1/en?oq=8176123.

28. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,285,788 entitled “Techniques for 

sharing files within a collaborative communication system.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8285788B1/en?oq=8285788.

29. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,554,838 entitled “Collaborative 

communication platforms.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8554838B1/en?oq=8554838.

30. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,819,120 entitled “Method and system 

for group communications.” A copy may be obtained at:

https://patents.google.com/patent/US8819120B1/en?oq=8819120.

31. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 8,984,063 entitled “Techniques for 

providing a user directory for communication within a communication system.” A copy may be 

obtained at: https://patents.google.com/patent/US8984063B1/en?oq=8984063.

32. BCS is owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 9,396,456 entitled “Method and system 

for forming groups in collaborative communication system.” A copy may be obtained at:

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https://patents.google.com/patent/US9396456B1/en?oq=9396456.

33. Defendant, at least by the date of this Original Complaint, is on notice of the above 

patents owned by BCS.

U.S. PATENT NOS. 7,302,612, 7,533,301 AND 7,890,809

34. BCS is the owner, by assignment, of U.S. Patent No. 7,302,612 (“the ’612 Patent”), U.S. 

Patent No. 7,533,301 (“the ’301 Patent) and U.S. Patent No. 7,890,809 (“the ’809 Patent”), each 

entitled HIGH LEVEL OPERATIONAL SUPPORT SYSTEM (hereinafter collectively referred 

to as “the Patents-in-Suit”).

35. The ’809 Patent issued on February 15, 2011, and is a continuation of the ’301 Patent, 

which issued on May 12, 2009. The ‘301 Patent is a continuation of the ’612 Patent, which 

issued on November 27, 2007. Thus, the Patents-in-Suit share a common specification.

36. The Patents-in-Suit are valid, enforceable, and were duly issued in full compliance with 

Title 35 of the United States Code.

37. The Patents-in-Suit were invented by Messrs. Blaine Nye and David Sze Hong.

38. The priority date of each of the Patents-in-Suit is at least May 1, 2003.

39. The Patents-in-Suit relate to:

A high-level Operational Support System (OSS) framework provides the 

infrastructure and analytical system to enable all applications and systems to be 

managed dynamically at runtime regardless of platform or programming 

technology. Applications are automatically discovered and managed. Java 

applications have the additional advantage of auto-inspection (through reflection) 

to determine their manageability. Resources belonging to application instances are 

associated and managed with that application instance. This provides operators 

the ability to not only manage an application, but its distributed components as 

well. They are presented as belonging to a single application instance node that 

can be monitored, analyzed, and managed. The OSS framework provides the 

platform-independent infrastructure that heterogeneous applications require to be 

monitored, controlled, analyzed and managed at runtime. New and legacy 

applications written in C++ or Java are viewed and manipulated identically with 

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zero coupling between the applications themselves and the tools that scrutinize 

them.

’809 Patent (Abstract).

Id. (Figure 1).

40. The field of the invention of the Patents-in-Suit is to improvements in “wireless 

communication carriers. More particularly, it relates to operational support system (OSS), 

application/systems management, and network management.” Id., col. 1:17-20.

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41. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “[m]any network management technologies exist that

allow operators to manage applications and devices at runtime. For instance, SNMP, TL1 and 

JMX each attempt to provide operators with the ability to manipulate and affect change at 

runtime.” Id., col. 1:22-26.

42. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “[t]he fundamental of each is similar. It is to 

manipulate the objects of an application through messaging.” Id., col. 1:26-27.

43. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “SNMP is the standard basic management service for 

networks that operate in TCP/IP environments. It is intended primarily to operate well-defined 

devices easily and does so quite successfully. However, it is limited to the querying and 

updating of variables.” Id., col. 1:28-32.

44. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “Transaction Language 1 (TL1) is a set of ASCIIbased instructions, or ‘messages,’ that an operations support system (OSS) uses to manage a 

network element (NE) and its resources. Id., col. 1:32-35.

45. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “JMX is a Java centric technology that permits the 

total management of objects: not only the manipulation of fields, but also the execution of object 

operations. It is designed to take advantage of the Java language to allow for the discovery and 

manipulation of new or legacy applications or devices.” Id., col. 1:35-40.

46. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “Operational Support for enterprise applications is 

currently realized using a variety of technologies and distinct, separate services. For instance, 

network management protocols (SNMP, JMX, TL1, etc.) provide runtime configuration and 

some provide operation invocation, but these technologies are not necessarily geared toward 

applications.” Id., col. 1:40-45.

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47. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “[s]ome are language specific (e.g., JMX) and require 

language agnostic bridging mechanisms that must be implemented, configured and maintained. 

SNMP is generic (e.g., TL1 and SNMP) and very simple in nature, but it requires application 

developers to implement solutions to common OSS tasks on top of SNMP. Id., col. 1:46-51.

48. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, “TL1 is also ASCII based and generic. However, 

while it is very flexible and powerful, it is another language that must be mastered, and it's nature 

is command line based. As a result, it is not intuitively based in presentation layer tools. While 

all the technologies have their respective benefits, they do not provide direct means of providing 

higher level OSS functionality. Conventionally, applications are monitored, analyzed and 

managed at runtime.” Id., col. 1:52-59.

49. As disclosed in the Patents-in-Suit, one or more claims “provid[e] a high-level

operational support system framework comprises monitoring a health of a plurality of 

applications. The health of the plurality of applications is assessed, and the health of the 

plurality of applications is analyzed, whereby each of the plurality of applications are managed 

dynamically at runtime regardless of a platform of each of the plurality of applications.” Id., col. 

1:64–2:3.

50. Consequently, the Patents-in-Suit improve the computer functionality itself and 

represents a technological improvement to the operation of computers.

51. The ’809 Patent was examined by United States Patent Examiner Joshua Lohn. During 

the examination of the ’809 Patent, the United States Patent Examiner searched for prior art in 

the following US Classifications: 714/38, 714/47, 719/320.

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52. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ‘809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent No. 6,748,555 to Teegan et al as 

one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

53. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent No. 6,862,698 to Shyu as one of 

the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

54. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ‘809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent No. 7,003,560 to Mullen et al as 

one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

55. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent No. 7,100,195 to Underwood as 

one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

56. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ‘809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0037288 by 

Harper et al as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

57. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 2003/0204791 by 

Helgren et al as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

58. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0073566 by 

Trivedi as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

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59. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 2004/0088401 by 

Tripathi et al as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

60. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0044535 by 

Coppert as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

61. After conducting a search for prior art during the examination of the ’809 Patent, the 

United States Patent Examiner identified and cited U.S. Patent Application No. 6,748,555 by 

Shyu as one of the most relevant prior art references found during the search.

DEFENDANT’S PRODUCTS

62. Upon information and belief, Defendant makes, uses, imports, sells, and/or offers for sale

a multitude of products and services broadly defined under the so-called “OpenWay Platform,” 

which is a family of products and services comprised of smart meters, software and 

communications infrastructure that combines individual features of an AMI system. “OpenWay”

is an IPv6 based multi-application network that delivers applications such as the following 

accused instrumentalities to water, gas and electricity utilities: OpenWay Riva/Centron Meters, 

OpenWay Reporting System, OpenWay Control, OpenWay Operation Center, OpenWay 

Collection Engine, OpenWay Riva Security, OpenWay Riva Active Grid, and OpenWay Riva

Adaptive Communications Technology. These applications and products provide security and 

network management tools to dynamically prioritize network traffic. Individually and 

collectively, the foregoing are the “Accused Instrumentalities”1, which are broadly described in 

 1 The Accused Instrumentalities further include any and all products of the Defendant, including but not limited to 

hardware and/or software products, which operate in substantially similar fashion as the specifically identified 

products herein.

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functional terms by the Itron website (www.itron.com), as exemplified by the following 

references:

• https://www.itron.com/na/industries/electricity/openway-riva (“REF1”);

• https://www.itron.com/fr/-/media/itron/documents/openway-riva-whitepaper.pdf?la=fr-FR (“REF2”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/-/media/itron/documents/brochures/101493mp-01-

openway-riva-generic-brochureweb.pdf?la=en-US (“REF3”);

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEQToZ9yGn8 (“REF4”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/-/media/itron/documents/openway-riva-streetlightsolution.pdf (“REF5”);

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=j-PMdhk-13E (“REF6”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/-

/media/itron/integration/specsheet/101504wp01streetlightspecifications.pdf

(“REF7”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/itron/documents/industry-smart-cities/itronstreetlight-vision.pdf (“REF8”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf (“REF9”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf (“REF10”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/active-gridwhite-paper.pdf (“REF11”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/solutions/product-catalog/openway-operations-center

(“REF12”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/solutions/product-catalog/openway-operationscenter#images-individual-1-1 (“REF13”);

• https://www.itron.com/na/solutions/product-catalog/openway-operationscenter#images-individual-1-5 (“REF14”);

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• https://www.itron.com/na/solutions/product-catalog/openway-operationscenter#images-individual-1-6 (“REF15”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openway-rivacentron-meter.pdf (“REF16”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openway-rivaact-module-for-the-cisco-connected-grid-router.pdf (“REF17”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openwaycentron-polyphase.pdf (“REF18”);

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openwayfatal-error-recovery.pdf (“REF19”);

• http://emrabc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/OpenWay_SmartGridCellRouter.pdf

(“REF20”);

• http://www.stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/OpenWay-ToolsUser-Guide.pdf (“REF21”);

• http://www.stopsmartmetersbc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/OpenWay-ToolsUser-Guide.pdf (“REF22”); and

• https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openwaycentron-cellular-lte.pdf (“REF23”).

63. The information contained in References REF1-REF23 is incorporated by reference as if 

set forth fully herein.

64. The information contained in reference REF1 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

65. The information contained in reference REF2 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

66. The information contained in reference REF3 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

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67. The information contained in reference REF4 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

68. The information contained in reference REF5 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

69. The information contained in reference REF6 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

70. The information contained in reference REF7 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

71. The information contained in reference REF8 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

72. The information contained in reference REF9 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

73. The information contained in reference REF10 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

74. The information contained in reference REF11 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

75. The information contained in reference REF12 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

76. The information contained in reference REF13 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

77. The information contained in reference REF14 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

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78. The information contained in reference REF15 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

79. The information contained in reference REF16 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

80. The information contained in reference REF17 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

81. The information contained in reference REF18 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

82. The information contained in reference REF19 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

83. The information contained in reference REF20 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

84. The information contained in reference REF21 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

85. The information contained in reference REF22 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

86. The information contained in reference REF23 accurately describes the operation and 

functionality of one or more Accused Instrumentality.

87. The “OpenWay” product family name has been federally registered as a Trademark by 

Itron, as Serial Number 86357851, for the following defined goods and services: “Data 

collection computer and communication network systems comprised of computer hardware, 

computer operating software and computer software for data collection applications, namely, 

automated meter reading, distribution automation, two-way communications between networks 

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and utility meters, and demand side management applications via the Internet, Intranet, 

Extranets, radio frequency networks, wireless networks, telephone lines, and integrated 

communications networks, namely, public switched telephone networks, virtual private 

networks, private networks, public networks, and cellular networks, all for use in the utility, 

power, and energy industries; Meter interface units comprised of digital, mechanical and optical 

sensors, encoders and transmitters; Inbound, outbound, two-way communication systems, 

namely, computer hardware, computer operating software and computer software for data 

collection and remote programming applications, namely, two-way automated meter reading, 

distribution automation, remote communications between networks and between and among 

utility meters, and demand side management applications via the Internet, Intranet, Extranets, 

radio frequency networks, wireless networks, telephone lines, and integrated communications 

networks, namely, public switched telephone networks, IP-based public networks, virtual private 

networks, private networks, broadband over powerline networks, public networks and cellular 

networks for energy data, and other utility meter monitoring points; Telephone, cellular and 

radio transceivers, intelligent communication adapters, and switch points for use in the utility, 

power and energy industries.” The date of first alleged use in commerce of such mark on the 

part of Itron is July 31, 2006. Source (USPTO TESS System): 

http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4808:zrrvvi.3.5. 

COUNT I

(Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,890,809)

88. BCS incorporates the above paragraphs by reference.

89. Itron has been on notice of the ’809 Patent at least as early as the date it received service 

of this Original Complaint.

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90. Upon information and belief, Itron has infringed and continues to infringe at least Claims 

1-9 of the ’809 Patent by making, using, importing, selling, and/or, offering for sale the Accused 

Instrumentalities.

91. Defendant, with knowledge of the ’809 Patent, infringes the ’809 Patent by inducing 

others to infringe the ’809 Patent. In particular, Defendant intends to induce its customers to 

infringe the ’809 Patent by encouraging its customers to use the Accused Instrumentalities in a 

manner that results in infringement.

92. Defendant also induces others, including its customers, to infringe the ’809 Patent by 

providing technical support for the use of the Accused Instrumentalities. 

93. Upon information and belief, at all times Defendant owns and controls the operation of 

the Accused Instrumentalities in accordance with an end user license agreement.

94. By way of example, the Accused Instrumentalities infringes Claim 1 of the ’809 Patent 

by providing a method of providing a high level support framework by monitoring from a 

physical server a health of a plurality of client applications and a health of said plurality of client 

applications' distributed components, using a common monitoring protocol, said monitoring 

being independent of a programming technology of said plurality of client applications and 

respective distributed components, by assessing said health of said plurality of client applications 

and said respective distributed components, and by associating said health of said plurality of 

client applications and said respective distributed components as belonging to a single 

application node.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 18 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 19

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openwaydemand-response-white-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwayoperations-center--action-manager.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 19 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 20

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 20 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 21

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openwayreporting-system.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 21 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 22

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivasecurity.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 22 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 23

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/active-gridwhite-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 23 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 24

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivaadaptive-communications-technology.pdf.

95. For example, the Accused Instrumentalities comprise smart meters, software and 

communications infrastructure that combines individual features of an AMI system. OpenWay is 

an IPv6 based multi-application network that delivers applications such as OpenWay Reporting 

System, OpenWay Control, OpenWay Operation Center, OpenWay Collection Engine, 

OpenWay Riva Security, OpenWay Riva Active Grid, OpenWay Riva Adaptive 

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 24 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 25

Communications Technology to water, gas and electricity utilities. These applications provide 

security and network management tools to dynamically prioritize network traffic.

96. The Accused Instrumentalities perform (or otherwise contribute to, and/or Defendant 

induces others to perform) the step of monitoring from a physical server a health of a plurality of 

client applications and a health of said plurality of client applications distributed components, 

using a common monitoring protocol, said monitoring being independent of a programming 

technology of said plurality of client applications and respective distributed components. This 

element is infringed literally, or in the alternative, under the doctrine of equivalents. For 

example, OpenWay comprises applications such as Active Grid and Operations Center. Active 

grid utilizes IoT technology including machine-to-machine communications, multi-application 

network architecture, cloud computing and data analytics to provide resource management. 

OpenWay Operations Center acts as an operational hub between the metering device population 

and the utility back office systems and processes, such as meter data management, outage 

management, distribution automation and load control. Distributed components for these 

applications include grid devices, sensors and smart meters such as OpenWay Riva Centron 

meter, Adaptive Communications Technology Module and OpenWay Centron polyphase meter. 

The health of applications (Activation ID and Activation status) and health of corresponding 

distributed components (such as grid device and sensor status, Sensor ID, voltage, wattage and 

current level of meters) is monitored using OpenWay (“common monitoring protocol”). Upon 

information and belief, the monitoring is independent of a programming technology of said 

plurality of client applications and respective distributed components.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 25 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 26

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

97. The Accused Instrumentalities perform the step of assessing said health of said plurality 

of client applications and said respective distributed components. For example, OpenWay 

assesses health of OpenWay Riva Active Grid and OpenWay Operations Center (“applications”) 

and respective distributed components (sensors, meters and communication modules). The 

health value of applications comprises of values such as Application ID and Activation status of 

particular application. Further, health of corresponding distributed components comprises of 

grid device and sensor status, Sensor ID, voltage, wattage and current level of meters.

98. The Accused Instrumentalities further perform the step of associating said health of said 

plurality of client applications and said respective distributed components as belonging to a 

single application node. For example, OpenWay analyzes all the collected data from sensors, 

meters and Advanced Metered Infrastructure (AMI). The health of the applications such as 

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 26 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 27

OpenWay Operations Center and its corresponding components (meters) is displayed on the 

OpenWay dashboard (“application node”).

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openwaydemand-response-white-paper.pdf.

99. BCS has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’809 Patent.

COUNT II

(Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,302,612)

100. BCS incorporates the above paragraphs by reference.

101. Itron has been on notice of the ‘612 Patent at least as early as the date it received service 

of this Original Complaint.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 27 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 28

102. Upon information and belief, Itron has infringed and continues to infringe Claims 1-20 of 

the ’612 Patent by making, using, importing, selling, and/or, offering for sale the Accused 

Instrumentalities.

103. Defendant, with knowledge of the ’612 Patent, infringes the ’612 Patent by inducing 

others to infringe the ’612 Patent. In particular, Defendant intends to induce its customers to 

infringe the ‘612 Patent by encouraging its customers to use the Accused Instrumentalities in a 

manner that results in infringement.

104. Defendant also induces others, including its customers, to infringe the ’612 Patent by 

providing technical support for the use of the Accused Instrumentalities. 

105. Upon information and belief, at all times Defendant owns and controls the operation of 

the Accused Instrumentalities in accordance with an end user license agreement.

106. By way of example, the Accused Instrumentalities infringe Claim 1 of the ’612 Patent by 

providing a method of providing a high-level operational support system framework by 

monitoring a health of a plurality of applications using a common monitoring protocol, at least 

two of the plurality of applications being based on different programming technology.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 28 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 29

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openwaydemand-response-white-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwayoperations-center--action-manager.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 29 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 30

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 30 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 31

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openwayreporting-system.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 31 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 32

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivasecurity.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 32 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 33

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/active-gridwhite-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 33 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 34

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivaadaptive-communications-technology.pdf.

107. For example, the Accused Instrumentalities comprise smart meters, software and 

communications infrastructure that combines individual features of an AMI system. OpenWay is 

an IPv6 based multi-application network that delivers applications such as OpenWay Reporting 

System, OpenWay Control, OpenWay Operation Center, OpenWay Collection Engine, 

OpenWay Riva Security, OpenWay Riva Active Grid, OpenWay Riva Adaptive 

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 34 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 35

Communications Technology to water, gas and electricity utilities. These applications provide 

security and network management tools to dynamically prioritize network traffic.

108. The Accused Instrumentalities perform (or otherwise contribute to, and/or Defendant 

induces others to perform) the step of monitoring a health of a plurality of applications using a 

common monitoring protocol, at least two of said plurality of applications being based on 

different programming technology. This element is infringed literally, or in the alternative, 

under the doctrine of equivalents. For example, OpenWay comprises applications such as Active 

Grid and Operations Center. Active grid utilizes IoT technology including machine-to-machine 

communications, multi-application network architecture, cloud computing and data analytics to 

provide resource management. OpenWay Operations Center acts as an operational hub between 

the metering device population and the utility back office systems and processes, such as meter 

data management, outage management, distribution automation and load control. Distributed 

components for these applications include grid devices, sensors and smart meters such as 

OpenWay Riva Centron meter, Adaptive Communications Technology Module and OpenWay 

Centron polyphase meter. The health of applications (Activation ID and Activation status) and 

health of corresponding distributed components (such as grid device and sensor status, Sensor 

ID, voltage, wattage and current level of meters) is monitored using OpenWay (“common 

monitoring protocol”). Upon information and belief, the applications designed by utilities 

showing information about fault location, sensor data, data graphs and health of substations are 

based on different programming technology.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 35 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 36

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

109. The Accused Instrumentalities further provide a common performance management 

interface to dynamically change a performance related configuration variable of said plurality of 

applications at runtime regardless of a programming technology of each of said plurality of 

applications. For example, Defendant provides OpenWay which comprises a dashboard 

(“common performance management interface”) containing information about applications 

configured by the utilities. The Operations Center dashboard includes graphical interfacing, 

mapping, alerts, information and actionable recommendations (“performance related 

configuration variable”) of applications at runtime regardless of programming technology of 

each application.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 36 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 37

110. BCS has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’612 Patent.

COUNT III

(Infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,533,301)

111. BCS incorporates the above paragraphs by reference.

112. Itron has been on notice of the ’301 Patent at least as early as the date it received service 

of this Original Complaint.

113. Upon information and belief, Itron has infringed and continues to infringe Claims 1-24 of 

the ’301 Patent by making, using, importing, selling, and/or, offering for sale the Accused 

Instrumentalities.

114. Defendant, with knowledge of the ’301 Patent, infringes the ’301 Patent by inducing 

others to infringe the ’301 Patent. In particular, Defendant intends to induce its customers to 

infringe the ’301 Patent by encouraging its customers to use the Accused Instrumentalities in a 

manner that results in infringement.

115. Defendant also induces others, including its customers, to infringe the ’301 Patent by 

providing technical support for the use of the Accused Instrumentalities.

116. Upon information and belief, at all times Defendant owns and controls the operation of 

the Accused Instrumentalities in accordance with an end user license agreement.

117. By way of example, the Accused Instrumentalities infringes Claim 1 of the ’301 Patent 

by providing a method of providing a high-level operational support system (OSS) framework by 

automatically discovering, with a server comprising the OSS framework, a plurality of 

applications that comply with a predefined framework.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 37 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 38

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openwaydemand-response-white-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwayoperations-center--action-manager.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 38 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 39

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 39 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 40

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/spec-sheet/openwayreporting-system.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 40 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 41

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivasecurity.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 41 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 42

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/active-gridwhite-paper.pdf.

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 42 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 43

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/white-paper/openway-rivaadaptive-communications-technology.pdf.

118. For example, the Accused Instrumentalities comprise smart meters, software and 

communications infrastructure that combines individual features of an AMI system. OpenWay is 

an IPv6 based multi-application network that delivers applications such as OpenWay Reporting 

System, OpenWay Control, OpenWay Operation Center, OpenWay Collection Engine, 

OpenWay Riva Security, OpenWay Riva Active Grid, OpenWay Riva Adaptive 

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 43 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 44

Communications Technology to water, gas and electricity utilities. These applications provide 

security and network management tools to dynamically prioritize network traffic.

119. The Accused Instrumentalities perform (or otherwise contribute to, and/or Defendant 

induces others to perform) the step of automatically discovering, with a server comprising said 

OSS framework, a plurality of applications that comply with a predefined framework. For 

example, OpenWay comprises smart meters, software and communications infrastructure that 

combines individual features of an AMI system. It comprises various applications such as Active 

Grid and Operations Center. The utilities configure a solution according to their needs. 

OpenWay automatically discovers the configuration of the utilities from a server and provides 

corresponding applications to the utilities depending upon the available communication and 

metering infrastructure. 

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openway-rivabrochure.pdf.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 44 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 45

Source: https://www.itron.com/-/media/feature/products/documents/brochure/openwaybrochure.pdf.

120. The Accused Instrumentalities perform the step of providing for a high level of 

management, by said server comprising said OSS framework, of said plurality of applications 

dynamically at runtime regardless of a platform technology utilized by any particular application 

from said plurality of applications. For example, OpenWay provides high level of management 

of applications such as OpenWay Operations Center and Active Grid. OpenWay comprises a 

dashboard containing information about applications configured by the utilities. The Operations 

Center dashboard includes graphical interfacing, mapping, alerts, information and actionable 

recommendations of applications at runtime regardless of programming technology of each 

application.

121. BCS has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’301 Patent.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 45 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 46

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, BCS respectfully requests the Court enter judgment against Defendant:

1. declaring that the Itron has infringed each of the Patents-in-Suit;

2. awarding BCS its damages suffered as a result of Itron’s infringement of the 

Patents-in-Suit;

3. awarding BCS its costs, attorneys’ fees, expenses, and interest; 

4. awarding BCS ongoing post-trial royalties; and

5. granting BCS such further relief as the Court finds appropriate.

JURY DEMAND

BCS demands trial by jury, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 38.

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 46 of 47
ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT PAGE | 47

Dated: December 29, 2019 Respectfully Submitted

/s/ M. Scott Fuller 

M. Scott Fuller

Texas Bar No. 24036607

sfuller@ghiplaw.com

Thomas Fasone III

Texas Bar No. 00785382

tfasone@ghiplaw.com

GARTEISER HONEA, PLLC

119 W. Ferguson Street

Tyler, Texas 75702

Telephone: (903) 705-7420

Facsimile: (888) 908-4400

Raymond W. Mort, III

Texas State Bar No. 00791308

raymort@austinlaw.com

THE MORT LAW FIRM, PLLC

100 Congress Ave, Suite 2000

Austin, Texas 78701

Tel/Fax: (512) 865-7950

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF 

BCS SOFTWARE LLC

Case 1:20-cv-00675-ADA Document 2 Filed 12/30/19 Page 47 of 47