The California Institute of Technology has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Zoom Communications, accusing the videoconferencing company of using technology developed by the university without authorization.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, centers on U.S. Patent No. 8,316,104, which covers technology designed to improve the performance of large-scale videoconferencing systems.
According to the lawsuit, the patented system allows a central server to route users to the most appropriate meeting server based on factors such as distance, network traffic and connection quality, then dynamically adjust video performance to maintain reliability.
Caltech researchers originally developed the technology to support global scientific collaboration, enabling large groups of researchers to connect to virtual meetings across dozens of countries while maintaining stable video performance.
The university alleges that Zoom’s videoconferencing platform incorporates similar capabilities designed to manage connections and optimize performance for large numbers of participants.
Zoom rose to global prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as businesses, schools, and organizations turned to videoconferencing tools for remote collaboration.
Caltech is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit. Zoom did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the filing, and the university declined to provide additional remarks about the case.
The lawsuit adds to a series of patent disputes involving Caltech and major technology companies, though the current case focuses specifically on videoconferencing systems rather than wireless networking technologies.
(Image: Zoom)