December 12, 2025
Signify Faces Patent Suit Over Web Search Tools
2007 database patent triggers lawsuits against several multi-billion dollar firms
On December 10, Costco quietly exited a Texas patent lawsuit — dismissed after settling claims brought by a little-known company called Global Connect Technology. The very next day, Global Connect filed four fresh lawsuits against a new set of multi-billion-dollar companies, including Signify.
The common thread? A 2007 database patent — U.S. Patent No. 7,246,128 — and a curious sense of symmetry. The plaintiff operates from a residential address in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The defendant, Signify, maintains its IP legal team just 15 miles up Route 128 in Burlington. And yes, it’s the ‘128 patent fueling this stretch of litigation.
Coincidence? Maybe. But in this case, Route 128 and Patent ‘128 are on a direct collision course.
Not the Usual IP Script
While Signify has often taken an assertive stance on intellectual property in the lighting sector, this suit places it in the defendant’s chair. The allegations, however, don’t involve lighting systems or controls. Instead, the patent describes database tools for navigating complex hierarchies of information — a concept commonly associated with e-commerce filters or dynamic search bars used on Philips Lighting webpages.
The patent’s inventor, Jena Jordahl, claims credit for innovations like the now-ubiquitous left-hand navigation toolbar. Whether that claim holds water remains to be seen — for now, the ‘128 patent has already been cited by over 280 other U.S. patents, including those filed by IBM, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Global Connect’s digital footprint is minimal. Its legal one is growing.
The Two Litigation Waves
Wave 1 – Filed August 8, 2024
In February 2025, the court consolidated the Wave 1 cases for pretrial purposes under a single lead case, with Christie's designated as the lead defendant.
- Christie's International PLC
- Best Buy Co., Inc.
- Costco Wholesale Corporation: Dismissed with prejudice on December 10, 2025 following confidential settlement
Wave 2 – Filed December 11, 2025
- Anker Innovations Ltd.
- Canon Inc.
- Signify N.V. (served via Intelligent Lighting Controls, Inc.)
- Sony Electronics Inc.
The Enemy of Thy Enemy is Thy Friend
The timing of Costco’s exit — just one day before the new round of filings — suggests a coordinated legal play. Whether that pattern continues depends on how the new defendants respond. Signify, Canon, Anker, and Sony now face the same claims. Will they align? Settle? Or fight like Christie’s and Best Buy continue to do?
Signify declined to comment in response to Inside Lighting’s request.
In the meantime, a database patent with roots in early-2000s search logic is steering straight down the highway of modern IP litigation — literally and legally. On this route, the number 128 isn’t just a patent. It’s a roadmap likely fraught with delays and potholes.
