LI firm wins temporary restraining order against rival
![Derek Peterson, CEO of Soter Technologies, which developed the FlySense...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZTRmZDdiYTgtNTQ2Yy00%3AYTgtNTQ2Yy00MWMzNTBi%2Fbzsoter200711_photos.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Derek Peterson, CEO of Soter Technologies, which developed the FlySense vape and bullying detection system for schools. Credit: David Conn
Soter Technologies LLC, the Ronkonkoma maker of FlySense vape-detection sensors, has won a temporary restraining order in its cybersquatting and trademark infringement lawsuit against a Long Island rival.
In a July 2 ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman imposed a temporary restraining order on Bay Shore-based IP Video Corp. and its related companies, A+ Technology & Security Solutions Inc. and Advance Convergence Group Inc.
The 14-day injunction bars the Bay Shore companies from using the www.flysense.com domain name to sell their rival Halo Smart Sensor vape detection device and promoting it as compatible with the FlySense proprietary software platform.
"There is a strong likelihood that consumers who search the internet looking for plaintiff's FlySense product will be directed to defendants' website," the judge wrote.
The trademark lawsuit, filed in Manhattan on June 30, said Soter Technologies has suffered more than $2 million in lost sales and about $1 million in price erosion because it was forced to lower the price of the FlySense device to compete with Halo.
In addition to a restraining order, Soter Technologies is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
"We are committed to defending our intellectual property, patents, trademarks and our reputation," Derek Peterson, chief executive of Soter Technologies, said in a statement.
David Antar, president of IP Video and A+ Technology & Security Solutions and chief executive of ACG, called the trademark lawsuit and a separate patent-infringement lawsuit filed on July 6 "frivolous."
Antar said the Halo device does not infringe on Soter Technologies' patent, "which we believe to be invalid."
He said the Halo air quality and audio monitoring product was in development since 2015 and his companies would be "filing counterclaims to their lawsuit."
The temporary injunction in the trademark case "doesn't change any of our product offerings or the ability to market our products," Antar said.
The patent case, filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, charges that IP Video Corp., A+ Technology, Advance Convergence Group and Halo Smart Solutions Inc. infringe on Soter's patent for a sensor system to detect vaping and bullying.
The patent lawsuit seeks an injunction barring manufacture, distribution or sale of the Halo device and unspecified damages.
The FlySense and Halo devices are both about the size of a smoke detector and can be mounted on the ceiling of bathrooms in schools and other institutions. Sound-detection capabilities on both are designed to detect bullying.
The FlySense patent was awarded on June 30.
Soter Technologies, founded as Digital Fly in 2015, is rolling out a new product, the SymptomSense Screening Evaluation Gateway, to check people's vitals as they enter public places. The walk-through portal's readings include temperature, respiration and blood-oxygen levels.
The name of the SymptomSense scanner has been changed, and this article has been republished to reflect the change.
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