Grocery stores have become high-tech places in recent years – there are in-store screens displaying advertisements and promotions, digital shelf tags, personalized digital coupons, smart carts, scan-and-go, mobile payments, and even checkout sensors that monitor the length of lines to make sure no one has to wait too long.
And now one grocery chain is being sued for offering all of the above, and more.
Months after settling a lawsuit with Kroger over an in-store offering it claimed violated several of its patents, the technology company Alpha Modus has sued the grocery giant again, accusing it of “willfully infringing on a wide range of Alpha Modus’s patents that form the backbone of next-generation retail technology.”
Alpha Modus first sued Kroger last year, for working with the company “Cooler Screens” to replace its glass cooler doors with digital smart screens that display advertisements and product promotions. Alpha Modus claimed it held the patent for that technology. The two sides settled their differences earlier this year.
But Alpha Modus isn’t done. “Settling our dispute over Cooler Screens did not mean Kroger had a free pass to infringe Alpha Modus’s broader portfolio,” Alpha Modus CEO William Alessi said in a statement. Alpha Modus’s portfolio of technology patents offer retailers “the capability to analyze consumer behavior and product interaction in real-time,” its new lawsuit states.
Those patents allegedly cover technologies that Kroger has introduced in its stores. There are in-store display screens with embedded cameras that track customer traffic. Cameras that monitor self-checkout transactions, or the length of checkout lines. In-store monitors, smart shopping carts and digital shelf displays that generate “real-time communications including store-specific promotions, coupons, advertising, and purchase options.” All of it, Alpha Modus argues, is covered by its patents.
“The company continues to welcome licensing partnerships,” Alpha Modus explained. “But it will not hesitate to pursue litigation when its rights are violated.”
And pursue litigation, it has. Alpha Modus had previously sued and settled with ShopRite operator Wakefern and, more recently, Walgreens. It’s still pursuing a lawsuit against grocery operator Brookshire. And just last week, it filed a lawsuit against Cooler Screens itself.
“Alpha Modus invests heavily in developing and protecting innovations that enhance the in-store experience,” Alessi said. In the case of Kroger, “this isn’t about one vendor relationship or one deployment — it’s about a retail giant choosing to build its digital future on technology covered by Alpha Modus’s patents.”
The lawsuit against Kroger seeks damages, attorneys’ fees, and a permanent injunction preventing Kroger from offering any of the allegedly offending technology without a proper licensing agreement.
Kroger, which has a habit of not responding to requests for comment, did not respond to a request for comment.
“Kroger must face up to the fact that it is infringing directly on Alpha Modus’s technology,” Alessi said. “We will not accept anything less than being paid what we are owed and securing proper licensing moving forward.”
Many shoppers already find it kind of creepy that technology is allowing stores to monitor their every move and market to them accordingly. Last year, lawmakers reached out to Kroger to raise concerns about its use of some of the very technology mentioned in the Alpha Modus lawsuit.
Convenience and coupons can come at a price, in terms of giving up some of your privacy and your personal information. Depending on the outcome of this latest lawsuit, Kroger may find that the methods it’s using to offer convenience and coupons could come at a significant price, too.
Image source: Kroger Precision Marketing
