Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31502
30 SUPPLIERS www.securitysystemsnews.com MAY 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Investors acquire Fluidmesh Fluidmesh joins Avrio RMS to make Carrick Bend, a new company that aims to make wireless easy for all By Martha Entwistle BUFFALO GROVE, Ill.—With the goal of making wireless a better, easier, and risk-free option for integrators and end users, two Chicago- based investors announced April 15 that they have acquired a controlling interest in Fluidmesh, a provider of wire- less networking devices. The investors are Generation3 Capital and Waveland Investments. Gen3 David Coleman and Waveland are the owners of Avrio RMS Group, which specializes in IP surveillance solutions for the public safety market. The company designs, engineers and deploys turnkey wireless security solutions for municipalities and organiza- tions with wide area surveillance needs. Under the deal announced April 14, Fluidmesh and Avrio RMS will become two separate divisions of a new company called Carrick Bend. Carrick Bend—whose name is derived from a nautical term for a knot used for joining two lines—will have as its signature service “Risk Free Wireless” and aims to provide “world-class products, design assistance and profes- sional services to integrators,” David Coleman, principal of Gen3 Capital, told Security Systems News. “In today’s market, the abil- ity to offer wireless solutions is mission critical for systems integrators large and small,” said Cosimo Malesci, EVP of sales and marketing at Fluidmesh, in a prepared statement. “The reality is that wireless systems are still a risky proposition to many integrators. By leverag- ing the expertise across Carrick Bend, we can transform the relationships with our partners, FLUIDMESH see page 31 ObjectVideo sues three By Martha Entwistle RESTON, Va.—The news, announced April 7, that video analytics maker Object Video is suing Sony, Samsung and Bosch for alleged patent infringement on some of OV’s analytics took the industry by surprise, and had many asking the question: “Why now?” After all, certain technologies have been in use for a while now, so why suddenly start suing major camera manufacturers? Is the lawsuit, as some surmise, designed to generate publicity or an opportunistic move by attorneys trolling for a patent lawsuit? Defendants Sony, Samsung and Bosch all declined to comment at this time because litigation is ongoing. Raul Fernandez, CEO of Object Video, said the lawsuit is a byproduct of a “patent asser- tion program” that Object Video For a more robust version of stories in this section, see: WWW.SECURITYSYSTEMSNEWS.COM n decided to undertake about 18 months ago ago. The company has always sold licenses to its software,but it did not license OV’s intellec- tual property (IP) until about 18 months. “We looked at different ways to assert our patent rights ... and we came to the conclusion that we needed to be better resourced to begin an assertion program of any kind,” he said. The process of looking for a new capital partner took a while and led eventually to a $27.75 million recapitalization by York Capital in a deal that closed in late 2010. Fernandez said the licensing of OV’s intellectual property will provide a perfectly legitimate revenue stream for the company. Many major companies with deep patent portfolios (OV holds 37 U.S. and international patents and has 46 patents OV SUES see page 31 Interview with Yoav Stern DVTel CEO looks to ‘manage growth and scale business’ By Martha Entwistle RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J.—Yoav Stern expects his experience in “global growth management, M&A, homeland security, and managing in many different cultural environ- ments,” will help him in his new role as CEO and president of DVTel. DVTel, a privately held maker of security management soft- ware, known for its iSoc product line, announced March 22 that Stern is its new president and CEO, and will also be a director on DVTel’s board. Stern takes over for Eli Gorovici, who served in that role for 10 years. Gorovici will continue to serve as an advi- sor to the CEO, and supervise certain strategic projects. “[Meeting customers] is top priority before doing anything else.” —Yoav Stern, DVTel In an email interview, Stern told SSN that after his early days in the Air Force, he’s worked with “many different high tech markets and industries, always where high growth, fast-paced change and innovation were involved.” Stern has worked “on the side of the investors in a public venture holding company, on the side of management as a CEO and active chairman, and I have been a partner in companies, which I am still involved with. I was also and am still very active in invest- ment community with raising money in many cases for the companies that I have run or partner in.” Initially, Stern’s goal is to meet DVTel customers, something he’s started to do. “It is top priority before doing anything else.” SSN Motorola VC looks to invest Vidsys investor is interested in analytics By Martha Entwistle SCHAUMBURG, Ill.—Motorola Solutions Venture Capital announced in March that it’s interested in investing in “five or six more start-up compa- nies,” and physical security companies are definitely under consideration, Reese Schroeder, managing director of Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, told Security Systems News. “We think we’ll do a half a dozen investments this year,” he said. MSVC is typically a Series B investor. “Our typical initial investment is in the $2 (million) to $5 million range.” He noted that MSVC currently has 20 portfolio companies (including PSIM manufacturer Vidsys) and said he anticipates further investment this year in some of those companies. Motorola Solutions Venture Capital is the strategic equity investment arm of Motorola Solutions, a provider of mis- sion-critical communications products and services for enter- prise and government custom- ers. The company was formerly part of Motorola Inc., which separated into two separate publicly traded companies in January: Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility. Motorola Inc. launched its investment group in 1999, and it was “one of the more active and best known corporate ven- ture capital groups out there,” Schroeder said. “Over its life, the group invested in 155 different start- up companies,” he added. When Motorola split in January, its venture group was also split in two. “Post separation, my team is laser-focused on com- panies that tie into the govern- ment, enterprise and public safety [communications] space ... we look for companies that will help us grow and bring new capabilities [to market] faster.” Schroeder added that MSVC hasn’t invested “purely in video analytics ... but we hope and expect to,” he said. SSN BRIEFS Allegations of patent infringement for 360- degree cameras heat up GUILDFORD, U.K.—Grandeye Ltd. filed a complaint on March 30 against Sentry360 Security, Inc., alleging pat- ent infringement, the misappropriation of trade secrets and breach of contract. In addition to injunctive relief, the com- pany also seeks damages. According to a statement put out by Grandeye, Sentry360 signed a non- disclosure agreement in 2006 to gain access to Grandeye’s proprietary tech- nology and is alleged to have violated that agreement by misappropriating Grandeye’s information for use in its own products. “Grandeye’s management is deter- mined to protect its intellectual prop- erty from the continued unlawful use by Sentry360,” said Paul Storm, partner, Storm LLP, a Dallas, Texas-based law firm that specializes in intellectual-prop- erty cases. In response to the lawsuit, Sentry360 released a statement on April 5 disput- ing the claims and stating that “it was extremely surprised that it was served with the Grandeye lawsuit.” The com- pany claims that the lawsuit “is without legal basis and was wrongfully filed. Its press release concerning the lawsuit is similarly misleading.” Sentry360 also stated that it is “untrue” that the company signed a non- disclosure agreement with Grandeye in 2006. “Sentry360 signed a limited con- fidentiality agreement in 2006 in order to become a reseller for products. No proprietary information was given by Grandeye or used by Sentry360,” read the statement. The patents about which Grandeye has filed the lawsuit were allegedly assigned to it by another party in December 2009, according to the statement. Agilence buys defunct video analytic company CAMDEN, N.J.—Agilence, Inc., a pro- vider of point-of-service video auditing solutions, announced on April 12 that it has purchased the assets of video ana- lytics company Vidient Systems, Inc. Vidient went out of business in 2010. Agilence plans to modify Vidient’s technology and combine it with its Hawkeye platform specifically for the transportation and retail industries, according to a company statement. Vidient’s video analytics solution was primarily deployed in the transportation industry. “Vidient devoted significant time and resources to developing their technol- ogy and fine-tuning the performance of their analytics,” said Derek Rodner, VP of product development for Agilence, in a statement. “After evaluating the solution’s performance, we determined that this would be a smart investment for Agilence.”