The Armour Group a supplier of in-car and home entertainment products in the UK claimed that their Systemline Modular system did not breach a Leisuretech patent for their A-Bus system. The UK High Court has agreed and has ordered that LTE's United Kingdom patent is invalid and must be revoked.
The LTE, A-Bus patent specifies a particular method of sending DC power and stereo audio signals down a single CAT-5 cable for multi-room systems.
In a statement issued this week Armour whose profits were $8.27 million, down 22% this year to date said that Armour has been in dispute with LTE, an Australian company, generally known for its A-Bus brand.
Armour's Systemline brand has been using a similar method of power and audio transmission over CAT-5 for its Systemline Modular system since the outset, albeit with significant enhancements in the form of balanced line audio and a special DC-to-DC conversion circuit, which guarantees greater energy efficiency, and consistency of performance.
Armour have always taken the view that the LTE patent as filed, lacked substance and was indeed an obvious solution using standard audio integrated circuits and industry standard CAT-5 cable, for which nobody in Armour's view could claim a monopoly.
