Honeywell says ‘patent troll’ is behind Canadian company’s lawsuit against it
Honeywell, the Charlotte-based tech and electronics manufacturing giant, is suing a Canadian “patent troll” alleging it’s trying to scheme a settlement.
Honeywell filed a lawsuit last week in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina against the patent company, Patent Armory Inc.
Earlier, Patent Armory had sued Honeywell in April for patent infringement in the Eastern District of Texas. It alleged Honeywell’s customer service system and cloud-based customer experience platform encroach on Patent Armory’s telecommunication patents.
But in its complaint, Honeywell claimed that Patent Armory has a history of suing large companies for patent infringement in hopes to secure a settlement, noting that Patent Armory has pursued 189 infringement lawsuits against various businesses based on the same patents.
Some of these companies include Citibank, Wells Fargo Bank, The American Automobile Association, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Which Wich, Wingstop Restaurants, American Airlines, U-Haul International and Dave & Buster’s.
Honeywell alleged that Patent Armory does not make, use or sell any of its own products or services. Its sole business is patent licensing through litigation and the threat of litigation.“Thus, Patent Armory is an entity commonly referred to as a ‘patent troll,’ “ Honeywell stated.
“Patent Armory also appears to systematically settle litigation prior to any potentially damaging rulings on the baselessness of Patent Armory’s claims, thereby preserving its ability to extract license and settlement fees from other companies in the future,” Honeywell’s complaint stated.
Honeywell stated that Patent Armory offered to settle the Texas lawsuit for $95,000. And Honeywell claimed that Patent Armory has sent settlement demands to other companies it has sued for infringement.
“Patent Armory’s demand tactics, including the demand to Honeywell, are designed to extract payment from targets, knowing that the payment would be significantly less expensive than actually litigating against even a very questionable patent case,” the complaint stated.
Honeywell stated that it did not infringe on any of the alleged patents and there is no evidence for those claims.
For its part, Honeywell alleged that Patent Armory filed the Texas suit in bad faith and sought to dismiss the case.
Honeywell did not respond to requests for comment from The Charlotte Observer. Patent Armory could not be reached for comment.
Honeywell, ranked No. 118 in the annual Fortune 500 list that came out this month. With annual revenue of $38 billion it employs 102,000 people internationally and 1,150 locally.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 5:55 AM.
