NOCO Co. v. Medcursor Inc.: Genius Boost® Patent Dispute Ends After 1,753 Days
NOCO Co. asserted US9007015B1 — covering its Genius Boost® portable jump starter technology — against Medcursor’s competing 500A and 600A battery jump starter models. The case was filed in the Southern District of Ohio in March 2020 and ran for nearly five years before the parties jointly stipulated to a voluntary dismissal with prejudice, each bearing its own costs.
Nearly five years of jump-starter IP litigation ends by mutual stipulation
NOCO Co., an Ohio-based manufacturer of portable power products and holder of US9007015B1, filed suit against Medcursor Inc. in the Southern District of Ohio on 13 March 2020. The complaint alleged infringement of NOCO’s Genius Boost® jump starter patent by Medcursor’s Nekteck-branded 500A/12000mAh and 600A/12000mAh portable jump starter models. The case was docketed as 2:20-cv-01358 and litigated through multiple counsel teams on both sides, including Jones Day and Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease for NOCO, and Frantz Ward and Brouse McDowell for Medcursor.
The action concluded on 30 December 2024 when both parties jointly filed a stipulation of voluntary dismissal with prejudice under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii). The with-prejudice designation is legally significant: NOCO cannot re-file the same infringement claims against Medcursor on the same patent. The stipulation further specifies that each side bears its own attorneys’ fees and costs, suggesting a negotiated resolution rather than a clear win for either party on the merits.
A duration of 1,753 days — nearly five full years — is notably long for a district court patent case that did not reach a jury verdict. This timeline is consistent with extended claim construction proceedings, inter partes review activity, or protracted licensing negotiations running in parallel with litigation. The public record does not disclose any settlement terms, licensing payments, or product design-around agreements; the commercial resolution, if any, remains confidential between the parties.
Filing to Voluntary dismissal in 1753 days
1,753 days in litigation — well above the median district court patent case duration of ~700–900 days
Dismissed with prejudice by stipulation: what each party gains and loses
Rule 41(a)(1)(A)(ii): bilateral stipulated dismissal with prejudice
A dismissal under FRCP 41(a)(1)(A)(ii) requires the signed agreement of all parties. The with-prejudice designation means the court treats the claims as having been adjudicated — NOCO is permanently barred from asserting the same infringement claims under US9007015B1 against Medcursor. This is not a default or court-ordered outcome; both sides chose this resolution, strongly suggesting a negotiated arrangement was reached outside the public record.
Bilateral, final, claim-preclusiveNOCO permanently relinquishes infringement claims against Medcursor
By agreeing to dismissal with prejudice, NOCO foregoes any future litigation against Medcursor under the same patent for the same accused products. This is a meaningful concession for a patent holder. However, US9007015B1 itself remains in force and can still be asserted against other infringers. The absence of a fee award against NOCO also avoids an ‘exceptional case’ finding, which would have reputational consequences for future enforcement actions.
Patent survives; Medcursor claims foreclosedMedcursor exits litigation with full claim preclusion on both accused models
Medcursor obtains a permanent bar on NOCO re-asserting US9007015B1 against its 500A and 600A Nekteck jump starter products. Whether Medcursor paid any licensing royalty or agreed to modify its products as part of the negotiated resolution is not disclosed. The each-party-bears-own-costs provision means Medcursor avoids any fee-shifting exposure — a commercially favourable outcome for a defendant that spent nearly five years defending the action.
Claim-precluded; no fee liabilityUS9007015B1 remains a live enforcement risk for other portable jump starter sellers
The dismissal resolves only NOCO’s dispute with Medcursor. US9007015B1 remains enforceable, and NOCO has demonstrated both the willingness and resources to pursue multi-year patent litigation in S.D. Ohio. Other sellers of portable vehicle jump starters — particularly those competing with the Genius Boost® line — should treat this patent as an active enforcement vector and conduct freedom-to-operate analysis before entering or expanding in this product category.
Patent active; sector-wide FTO riskFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Noco, Co. | Company | Portable power products manufacturer — holder of US9007015B1 (Genius Boost® jump starter)Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | Medcursor, Inc. | Company | Consumer electronics importer and seller of the competing Nekteck 500A and 600A portable jump startersSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Aaron Mark Williams | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | John C. Evans | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Meredith Marie Wilkes | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Michael J. Garvin | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Patrick R. Akers | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Rex Wayne Miller , II | Attorney | Counsel for Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Fennemore Craig PC | Law Firm | Representing Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Jones Day | Law Firm | Representing Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease LLP | Law Firm | Representing Noco, Co.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Anastasia Joy Wade | Attorney | Counsel for Medcursor, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Michael P O’Donnell | Attorney | Counsel for Medcursor, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant law firm | Brouse Mcdowell LPA | Law Firm | Representing Medcursor, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant law firm | Frantz Ward, LLP | Law Firm | Representing Medcursor, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge N/A | Judge | Ohio Southern District CourtSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The stipulation’s language — ‘voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii)’ — carries two legally distinct effects. First, the with-prejudice designation operates as a final adjudication on the merits for claim preclusion purposes, barring NOCO from re-litigating the same infringement claims against Medcursor. Second, the each-party-bears-own-costs provision forecloses any post-dismissal fee motion. No merits ruling was issued; the patent’s validity and the infringement question remain formally unadjudicated.
US9007015B1 — Portable vehicle jump starter and battery management system
US9007015B1, filed under application number US14/325938, protects technology underlying NOCO’s Genius Boost® line of portable vehicle jump starters. The patent covers circuitry and control systems enabling safe, compact lithium-ion battery packs to deliver high-current bursts sufficient to start vehicles — a technical challenge requiring precise battery management to prevent damage to both the jump starter and the vehicle’s electrical system. The B1 designation indicates the patent issued without any post-grant re-examination amendments, suggesting the original claims survived examination intact.
The Genius Boost® product line sits at the intersection of consumer electronics and automotive accessories — a high-volume, competitively crowded category dominated by numerous Asian-manufactured private-label products. US9007015B1 gives NOCO a structural enforcement advantage over lower-cost competitors selling functionally similar products. NOCO’s willingness to sustain nearly five years of litigation against Medcursor’s Nekteck-branded products signals that the company views this patent as commercially material and worth defending at significant cost — a clear signal to other market participants.
Should your team run an FTO analysis against US9007015B1?
Any R&D team or product manager developing or sourcing portable vehicle jump starters — particularly lithium-based units in the 400A–800A output range competing with the Genius Boost® product family — should treat US9007015B1 as a primary clearance target. NOCO has demonstrated both the intent and the financial capacity to litigate this patent for multi-year periods. The risk is not theoretical: Medcursor’s Nekteck models were accused products for nearly five years before resolution.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can map the claim scope of US9007015B1 against your product’s technical specifications, identify prior art that may constrain enforcement, and surface any continuation or related family members that could extend NOCO’s coverage. Eureka can also monitor NOCO’s broader patent portfolio for new filings in the portable power and automotive electronics space, giving your team early warning of emerging enforcement risk before a complaint is filed.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on US9007015B1 to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar portable jump starter and battery management patent cases
Related patent infringement cases involving portable power, jump starter technology, and battery management systems litigated in Ohio and other U.S. district courts.
What this case signals for the portable power products IP landscape
A nearly five-year dismissal-with-prejudice in S.D. Ohio reveals enforcement patterns that every jump starter and portable battery brand should map.
With-prejudice stipulations after prolonged litigation often signal undisclosed settlement
When parties spend nearly five years in district court litigation and then jointly dismiss with prejudice — each bearing own costs — the most commercially rational explanation is a confidential licensing or co-existence agreement. Competitors and investors should assume Medcursor’s continued market presence may now rest on a licensed or design-around footing, even if no terms are public.
US9007015B1 is still enforceable against all other market participants
The Medcursor dismissal extinguishes claims only as between these two parties. NOCO’s patent remains in force. Any brand selling a portable jump starter product that overlaps with the Genius Boost® claim scope faces the same litigation risk that Medcursor navigated for nearly five years. An FTO clearance search against US9007015B1 is prudent before product launch or SKU expansion.
Noco v Medcursor — key questions answered
The case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by stipulation of both parties on 30 December 2024, after 1,753 days of litigation. Each party agreed to bear its own attorneys’ fees and costs. No merits ruling was issued; the dismissal prevents NOCO from re-filing the same claims against Medcursor on patent US9007015B1.
NOCO asserted US9007015B1 (application no. US14/325938), which covers technology underlying the Genius Boost® portable vehicle jump starter product line. The accused Medcursor products were the Nekteck-branded 500A/12000mAh and 600A/12000mAh portable jump starters sold under the ‘500 Model’ and ‘600 Model’ designations.
A dismissal with prejudice is treated as a final adjudication on the merits for claim preclusion purposes. NOCO is permanently barred from bringing the same infringement claims under US9007015B1 against Medcursor’s accused Nekteck products. NOCO can still enforce the patent against other third parties — only the Medcursor dispute is foreclosed.
The 1,753-day duration is consistent with — though the public record does not confirm — protracted claim construction proceedings, potential parallel PTAB or IPR activity, complex technical discovery regarding battery management circuitry, or extended settlement negotiations. Cases of this duration often resolve only when the parties’ litigation cost-benefit calculus shifts significantly, suggesting the terms of any private resolution were commercially meaningful to both sides.
Yes. The voluntary dismissal resolves only NOCO’s dispute with Medcursor. Patent US9007015B1 remains in force and can be asserted against any other party whose products fall within its claim scope. Manufacturers, importers, and retailers of competing portable jump starter products should conduct freedom-to-operate analysis against this patent before launching or expanding their product lines.
PatSnap Eureka searches patents and litigation data to answer instantly.