Xreal sues Viture over AR glasses patent

You know the gadget category is starting to catch on when patent lawsuits start popping up. Today, Xreal filed a lawsuit in the US against Viture, alleging that the company is infringing a patent on its AR glasses technology.

According to Xreal’s press release, the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and involves U.S. Patent No. 11,988,839. In short, the patent outlines optical technology that helps improve image quality and field of view in a lightweight form factor. Xreal says Viture has several products, including the Viture Pro, Luma Pro and Luma Ultra, that infringe its technology.

In November, a German court ruled in favor of Exreal in a similar suit. The result was a preliminary injunction against Viture, which sells, markets or imports its products in nine EU countries.

Patent battles are becoming more common among smart glasses makers. Meta had two cases in late 2025. The first involved electromyography technology in its Neural Band, which allows people to use gestures to control the display in Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses. The second involves artificial intelligence and recording technology in Ray-Ban glasses. Meanwhile, patent troll IngenioSpec has filed a case with the International Trade Commission against several players, including Even Realities, Brilliant Labs and Halliday, over patents for AI glasses.

“I would say this shows that the market has become large enough and interested enough that intellectual property defense will become increasingly important,” says Anshil Saag, principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. “There are billions of dollars at stake for many companies, and perhaps control of the next computing platform.”

“We’re starting to see intellectual property lawsuits in this space because smart glasses are now getting closer to mainstream status and more vendors are entering this space,” agrees Avi Greengart, an analyst at Techsponential. “Meta smart glasses are starting to sell in the millions, Xreal smart displays are selling in large quantities, and Xreal is looking at an Aura project with Google. If you have a patent portfolio, you have to defend it.”

The danger of patent wars is that they can stifle innovation in a thriving field. Both Sag and Greengart say they’re not particularly concerned about this being the case for the XR. The Exreal case in particular is less about patent trolling (e.g., misusing patents without the intention of making a product, etc.) than it is about arguing whether a competitor is unfairly using the competitor’s “core technology.”

“You run into patent trolls all the time, especially in high-growth industries or ones that are expected to become profitable, but this doesn’t really fit that because those two competitors have products on the market,” says Sage, referring to the Xreal case.

Edge She reached out to Viture, but did not receive a response before publication. Xreal also declined to provide attributable comment, citing the company’s legal policy that all data related to active litigation be transferred to a “spokesperson” rather than an individual.