IoT Innovations LLC filed IoT Innovations LLC v. ABB Limited, No. 2:26-cv-00826 (E.D. Tex.), on September 15, 2026.
Patents and accused products
The five asserted patents are U.S. Patent 7,209,876 (System and method for automated answering of natural language questions and queries), U.S. Patent 7,593,428 (Apparatus, and associated method, for forming, and operating upon, multiple-checksum-protected data packet), U.S. Patent 7,643,423 (dynamic channel allocation / resource management in a wireless communication system), U.S. Patent 9,008,055 (Automatic remote services provided by a home relationship between a device and a server), and U.S. Patent RE44,742 (Dynamic message templates and messaging macros). Accused products include ABB Ability Genix (including Genix Copilot), Ability Edge Industrial Gateway and related gateways, Ability Smart Device Manager, free@home systems, and related distributed-control offerings named in the complaint.
What the patents cover
Taken together, the patents span natural-language question answering, checksum-protected packets, wireless resource management, home-device-to-server remote services, and dynamic messaging templates - a mix of IoT gateway, industrial analytics, and messaging ideas.
U.S. Patent 7,209,876 covers searching an information repository for answers to natural-language questions by generating an expected answer form from the query, searching for a matching answer, and rendering it to the user.
Asserted claims of the '876 patent. At least claim 1.
Claim 1 covers searching a natural-language information repository with a question that includes at least one variable expression, retrieving matching text, and then searching that first result set for the desired answer data.
U.S. Patent 9,008,055 covers automatically connecting a mobile device to a remote local network, reaching a home-network server over the Internet, and - after the server recognizes the device - activating services such as image uploads.
Asserted claims of the '055 patent. At least claim 1.
Claim 1 covers automatic remote services for a mobile device that already has a home-network relationship: when the device connects through a separate local network, the home server receives stored relationship information and runs preferred services if it recognizes the device.
U.S. Patent RE44,742 covers building a message from a template with dynamic fields that are pre-filled from context data tied to an executing application, reducing manual data entry.
Asserted claims of RE44,742. At least claim 1.
Claim 1, as quoted in paragraph 75 of the complaint, covers executing an application with associated message-context data, selecting a context-data item, and automatically inserting that item into a dynamic template field to help create a message from the device.
The remaining asserted claims are claim 14 of U.S. Patent 7,593,428 and claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,643,423 (network and messaging methods in the same portfolio).
What the lawsuit is about
IoT Innovations is aiming a five-patent EDTX complaint at ABB's industrial IoT and home-automation stack, tying Ability Genix analytics and edge gateways to natural-language, messaging, and remote-service claims.
What it means
ABB will need to answer across several different technology stories in one case. Early practice may try to narrow which products map to which patent.
What to watch next
Watch for ABB's answer after service and for any motion practice that splits the natural-language claims from the gateway and messaging claims.