Viture is being sued by Xreal for allegedly infringing its patents

The AR glasses wars have begun

(Credit: Viture)

• 🧑‍⚖️ Xreal is suing fellow AR glasses maker Viture, accusing the latter of infringing on its patents

• 🤔 Xreal has sued Viture in a federal Texas court following an alleged injunction in Germany restricting the sale of its glasses

• ✋ Viture has hit back at Xreal, arguing that its products don’t infringe on Xreal’s patents

• 🤷‍♂️ The public war of words between the two firms comes after numerous claims on both sides, including that Viture has fewer patents that don’t apply in the US and Europe

Xreal has filed a legal complaint against Viture as it accuses the San Francisco-founded brand of infringing on its patents.

According to a press release, Xreal has sued Viture in a federal Texas court, accusing the company of incorporating Xreal’s patented tech into its glasses, including the Viture Luma Pro, Luma Ultra and Beast models.

The company wrote in the press release that the “lawsuit is not merely about enforcing a single patent”, arguing instead that it is “ about stopping a pattern of intellectual property infringement that undermines the integrity of innovation and endangers continued technological development in this industry.”

For reference, Xreal has already won a preliminary injunction against Viture in Germany, which resulted in a sales freeze of the latter’s products. This could spread to nine other European countries, including France, Italy, and Spain. The injunction affects Viture’s Pro, Luma and Luma Pro smart glasses.

In a response published in Tom’s Guide, Viture said that its products “do not infringe upon the cited patent in any way,” inviting consumers to “look closely at the patent itself and form their own judgment”.

Viture contends that “it becomes clear very quickly how weak and questionable it is. Xreal has simultaneously circulated false claims suggesting that Viture is “banned across nine European countries”, going as far as to suggest that it is “entirely untrue”.

Both companies make AR glasses with built-in displays that connect to devices via USB-C, allowing you to do everything from play games to get work done on floating virtual screens.

Viture is a relatively new player in the world of AR and VR devices, but has made waves with the likes of its collaboration with CD Projekt Red on a set of Cyberpunk 2077-themed glasses in recent weeks.

Xreal has been around for longer, and holds over 800 patents and patent applications around the world in AR, VR and other tech. It claims that Viture has fewer than 70 patents, with none in the US and Europe.

Up next: Xreal 1S AR glasses are $50 cheaper than the Xreal One and feature 3D spatial tech

Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.