By Jay Landers 

Opening a legal battle that could have major ramifications for the automated parking monitoring and enforcement sector, Municipal Parking Services Inc. (MPS) — the maker of the SafetyStick and other automated parking detection and violation enforcement equipment — recently filed a lawsuit alleging patent infringement against the parking compliance company Parking Revenue Recovery Services Inc. (PRRS) and parking operator LAZ Parking. 

Filed June 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, the suit alleges that PRRS and its customer LAZ are infringing five MPS patents pertaining to automated parking lot monitoring and management systems.  As of the time of publication, neither PRRS nor LAZ Parking had been served with the lawsuit.

The patents in question 

Filed on behalf of MPS by The Dacus Firm P.C., of Tyler, Texas, and Carlson, Caspers, Vandenburgh & Lindquist P.A., of Minneapolis, the suit references the following five MPS patents covering parking lot monitoring and management systems issued between 2018 and 2025: 

• U.S. Patent No. 10,121,172, “Parking Lot Monitoring System” (November 6, 2018) 

• U.S. Patent No. 11,257,302, “Parking Meter System” (February 22, 2022) 

• U.S. Patent No. 11,688,205, “Parking Meter System” (June 27, 2023) 

• U.S. Patent No. 12,142,085, “Parking Meter System” (November 12, 2024) 

• U.S. Patent No. 12,249,187, “Parking Meter System” (March 11, 2025) 

The patents “relate to, among other things, novel methods to monitor parking facilities and enforce violations,” according to MPS’s lawsuit. 

MPS’s Patent ‘172 “relates to lot and ramp payment management systems and payment methods, more particularly, to parking structures monitored by vehicle identification devices interacting with a payment monitoring and acceptance system,” according to the patent. 

Patents ‘302, ‘205, ‘085, and ‘205 relate “to parking meters, and more particularly, to automated parking meter systems,” according to the patents.  

MPS’s claims 

In its suit, MPS alleges that PRRS has infringed its patents by “directly or indirectly, by making, using, offering to sell, selling, and/or importing automated parking monitoring and management systems/services… for and/or at parking facilities of its customers throughout the United States,” according to the lawsuit. MPS specifically identifies as an infringement PRRS’s Automated Recognition and Compliance (ARC) system. The system “enables 24-hour real time monitoring of facilities using free flow traffic methods,” according to the PRRS website. 

As for LAZ, MPS alleged that the company “uses and/or induces others to use automated parking monitoring and management systems/services purchased and/or licensed from PRRS, and in doing so infringes, directly and/or indirectly, claims of the Patents-in-Suit,” according to MPS’s claim. 

Along with requesting the court to grant that the defendants have infringed the patents in question, MPS asked that PRRS and LAZ be required to pay it “all appropriate damages” as well as attorneys’ fees and costs and expenses, according to the lawsuit. 

MPS asked the court to force PRRS to halt its activities related to automated parking management and monitoring. “MPS seeks the relief requested herein, including an injunction and appropriate damages, against PRRS itself based on PRRS’s activities related to PRRS’s provision of infringing automated parking management and monitoring systems/services activities to its customers, including but not limited to provision of such systems/services to PRRS customer LAZ Parking,” according to the lawsuit. 

“As to the activities of LAZ Parking specifically, MPS seeks the relief requested herein against each of PRRS and LAZ Parking jointly, severally, or in the alternative, arising out of the same infringing use of the same PRRS system/services at LAZ Parking locations,” the lawsuit states. 

When contacted by Parking Today, MPS declined to discuss the litigation. “We would love to comment on this suit,” said Joe Caldwell, the CEO for MPS, in a statement provided to Parking Today. “However, it’s MPS’s policy not to comment on pending litigation,” Caldwell said. “Our patents and this lawsuit speak for themselves.” 

Contested claims 

For its part, PRRS strongly contests the claims made by MPS. “PRRS disagrees with MPS’s allegations, will fight them vigorously, and expects to prevail,” said Todd Tucker, the chief operations officer for PRRS, in a statement to Parking Today. 

“LAZ Parking is dedicated to leading the parking industry and collaborates professionally with all our partners to maintain the highest ethical and legal standards,” said Mary Brennan Coursey, a spokesperson for LAZ Parking, in a statement provided to Parking Today. “Unfortunately, out of respect for all parties involved, we cannot comment on active litigation matters.”   

The case has been assigned to Judge Alan D. Albright. 

Jay Landers is the editor-in-chief of Parking Today. He can be reached at [email protected].