A U.S. District Court jury has awarded USAA $200 million in a patent infringement lawsuit against Wells Fargo yesterday involving remote deposit capture (RDC). USAA filed suit in June 2018 against Wells Fargo alleging that the bank infringed on certain USAA RDC patents, specifically patents related to mobile check capture.

“Nearly every U.S. bank and credit union uses this [RDC] technology, benefiting some 87 million U.S. consumers. USAA continues to seek opportunities to create reasonable and mutually beneficial licensing agreements with banks and credit unions for use of USAA’s mobile remote deposit capture process,” reads a USAA press release.

The release also noted USAA has filed a separate suit for additional patents related to RDC against Wells Fargo in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Texas with a scheduled for January 2020.

This decision has ramifications for credit unions as USAA has sent letters to many credit unions asking them to negotiate license deals for using RDC technology that USAA claims to have developed.

CUNA’s patent litigation attorney, Mike Rounds of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, said that USAA is likely to aggressively enforce these patents, which could lead to litigation for credit unions.

Credit unions should contact their RDC technology vendor, Rounds or their own attorney with questions. 

Additional details can be found on CUNA’s Removing Barriers Blog.

CUNA is organizing a webinar to provide more information, and registration will be published in CUNA News when available.