spatialcomputing.info

AR glasses maker XREAL is taking its competitor VITURE to court over a patent dispute, claiming that it’s selling and/or importing units into the US that infringe on its intellectual property. Viture claims however that Xreal is using the suit as a weapon to unfairly compete in the market rather than as a legitimate defense of innovation.

Xreal announced last week it was bringing a lawsuit against its direct competitor Viture, both of which have operating roots in China.

Xreal claims that Viture unlawfully makes, sells, and imports AR glasses that infringe its US patent, which covers a specific birdbath-style optical system. Notably, birdbath-style optics a generally cheaper and more easily produced than waveguides, like those seen in Meta’s 2024 Orion AR prototype.

In a recent Reddit post, Viture has publicly disavowed Xreal’s narrative, arguing that Xreal is essentially acting as a patent troll.

“We deeply respect intellectual property,” Viture says. “IP exists to protect genuine innovation and to move an industry forward, not to be weaponized to create fear, confusion, or artificial barriers. Unfortunately, what we are seeing today does not reflect that principle.”

Continuing: “From our perspective, this bears striking resemblance to a patent-troll-style action that targeted XREAL last year, and now mirrors the same tactics being used against us.”

Technically, Viture argues that Xreal’s patent in question (US 11,988,839 B2) covers birdbath optical technology that is long-established and largely covered by expired prior art.

Viture claims that similar patents have already been rejected in China, that its products do not infringe, and that Xreal’s patent adds only minor, appearance-level changes rather than true optical innovation. Furthermore, Viture characterizes the patent as low-value and easily invalidated.

A major point of contention is what Viture calls “deliberate misinformation,” specifically Xreal’s claims that its products are “banned across nine European countries.”

Viture maintains this as false: only the Viture Pro in Germany was affected by a preliminary injunction (as outlined by Android Authority), the product was already sold out, and all other products remain legally sold across Europe.

The company has appealed the injunction and filed a formal challenge to the patent’s validity, and says it has initiated legal action over what it calls “the deliberate circulation of false claims.”

Granted, it may be some time before we hear more about this case, as it’s just been filed in the Eastern District of Texas, and is still in early procedural stages. There is not public trial date at the time of this writing.

You can read Viture’s full response here on Reddit.