Eagle Harbor Holdings sues Ford in patent case

Bainbridge Island-based Eagle Harbor Holdings and its subsidiary, MediusTech, have filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor, alleging infringement of seven patents related to Bluetooth, audio communications and other technologies used in Ford automobiles.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, alleges Ford has used the technologies in its heavily marketed Sync and other vehicle systems.

Eagle Harbor said it began developing the technologies for those systems more than 10 years ago. Now, the company said, they're being used without authorization in Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

Jeffrey Harmes, general counsel for Eagle Harbor, said talks between the company and Ford began in 2002.

But, according to the filing, Ford stopped communication with Eagle Harbor in 2008 and began incorporating the technology into its products over the next year.

Attempts to reach Ford for comment Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Harmes said attorneys contacted Ford in 2009 to inquire about the use of Eagle Harbor's technology but received no response.

"We'd much rather do business with Ford as customers than have to file this lawsuit against them. Their business could mean millions," Harmes said, noting that Ford sells millions of vehicles with the systems each year.

Eagle Harbor was co-founded in 2000 under the name Medius by father and son Dan Preston and Joe Preston.

The company focuses on several technology markets and has created software that connects car radios to cellphones and allows a driver to pay for a tank of gas within his or her car.

Dan and Joe Preston also founded Airbiquity, a Seattle vehicle-services technology company, in 1997.

Airbiquity's technology is in General Motors' OnStar wireless platform, which connects motorists to information services.

Christine Harvey: 206-464-3263 or charvey@seattletimes.com