Arbor Systems Sues Terra Ferma in Colorado on a Light Communication Patent.

The complaint

The case is Arbor Systems LLC v. Terra Ferma LLC, No. 1:26-cv-05371 (D. Colo.), a five-page complaint for patent infringement filed October 20, 2026, ECF No. 1. The complaint says Arbor Systems LLC is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of New Mexico with its principal place of business in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It says Terra Ferma LLC is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Colorado with an established place of business in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It pleads venue under 28 U.S.C. 1400(b), alleging that Terra Ferma has an established place of business in the district and has committed acts of infringement there. The docket's October 21, 2026 assignment entry shows the case assigned to Judge Philip A. Brimmer and drawn to Magistrate Judge Maritza Dominguez Braswell, and Judge Brimmer referred the case to the magistrate judge for non-dispositive matters the same day.

The patent

The complaint identifies U.S. Patent 11,125,456, titled Light communication (LIFI), and says it issued on September 21, 2021, from an application filed on August 4, 2020. The complaint alleges that Arbor is the assignee of all right, title and interest in the patent, including the right to enforce and collect damages. The body of the complaint does not list claim numbers; it incorporates Exhibit 2 claim charts that identify the Exemplary '456 Patent Claims and the Exemplary Defendant Products.

What the patent covers

Claim 1 of U.S. Patent 11,125,456 covers a system with one or more light emitting diodes that include at least one optical transmitter and receiver optically coupled to an optical network to communicate using broadband optical transmission, in which the transmitter spreads transmitted data using a pseudorandom sequence without neighboring-network interference and without radio interference, and a controller coupled to the LEDs that provides data responsive to a broadband optical request.

What the lawsuit alleges

Count 1 alleges that Terra Ferma has directly infringed one or more claims of the '456 patent by making, using, offering to sell, selling, and/or importing Exemplary Defendant Products identified in the Exhibit 2 charts, literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, and by having employees internally test and use those products. It adds, on information and belief, that numerous other infringing devices have been made, used, sold, imported, and offered for sale by Terra Ferma or its customers. It alleges that service of the complaint with the attached claim charts constitutes actual knowledge of infringement, and that at least since that service Terra Ferma has induced infringement by selling those products for end-user use in a manner that infringes. The prayer seeks a judgment of validity and enforceability, a judgment of direct and indirect infringement, an accounting, damages under 35 U.S.C. 284, and, if necessary, a finding that the case is exceptional under 35 U.S.C. 285 with attorney fees. The complaint demands a jury trial.

What to watch next

The docket also lists an entry titled Order, ECF No. 10, dated October 23, 2026. Watch for any filings that follow that order and for Terra Ferma's answer or first responsive motion after service; the clerk issued the summons on October 21, 2026. Also watch whether this case is related to or coordinated with No. 1:26-cv-05370 (D. Colo.), Arbor's other District of Colorado complaint filed the same day. The case can end at any time, including by settlement or voluntary dismissal.