Norfolk Southern, the Atlanta-based Class I railroad, is staring down a federal patent fight after Jacksonville firm Duos Technologies accused the carrier of quietly deploying rival AI-powered train-inspection tech without permission. In a new lawsuit, Duos is asking a judge to shut down further use of the systems and to award damages and other relief.
According to Justia, Duos filed the case on Dec. 30, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida under docket number 3:25-cv-01625. The filing lists Duos Technologies as plaintiff and Norfolk Southern Corporation as defendant, and classifies the dispute as a federal patent infringement action.
In its complaint, Duos alleges that Norfolk Southern is infringing four issued patents that cover portal hardware, high-speed imaging systems and machine-learning algorithms used to spot defects on moving trains. The company is seeking compensatory and enhanced damages, as well as an injunction that would block continued use of the accused systems. “Norfolk Southern, without authorization, has used Duos’s patented technology in its inspection systems,” the filing states, according to Legal Newsline. Duos also tacks on claims of unfair competition and deceptive trade practices tied to the same conduct.
A technical breakdown of the lawsuit’s patent issues details the scope and timing of the asserted rights, per Ex Parte. Those records highlight U.S. Patent No. 11,974,035, titled “Device to Capture High Resolution Images of a Train as It Passes Through a Portal,” which is assigned to Duos, according to Google Patents. Taken together, Duos says, the patents describe line-scan and area cameras, LED lighting, speed sensors and AI workflows that stitch and analyze images in real time, and it argues that Norfolk Southern’s digital inspection portals incorporate those claimed inventions. Public materials from the railroad say the company has been building and testing portal structures in Ohio and Georgia to inspect trains without stopping them, and describe early deployments and demonstrations in those states, according to Norfolk Southern. The Georgia Tech Research Institute has separately detailed its collaboration with Norfolk Southern on the digital inspection project, including a portal installation near Jackson, Georgia, according to GTRI. Industry coverage has noted that the program flagged more than 25,000 mechanical defects in 2024, underscoring why the technology has real operational and commercial stakes, per Automation World.
Duos tells the court it sent Norfolk Southern three written notices of alleged infringement starting June 10, 2024, yet says the railroad kept rolling out additional portals anyway. That timeline is central to Duos’s argument that any infringement was willful, a label that could open the door to enhanced damages and other equitable remedies if a judge agrees.
Legal Stakes and Remedies
The suit proceeds under federal patent law and asks for traditional infringement remedies, including monetary damages, disgorgement of profits and injunctions aimed at halting ongoing use of the challenged systems. Under 35 U.S.C. § 284, a court has discretion to increase damages up to three times the amount found if it concludes the infringement was willful, a possibility spelled out in the statute, according to Cornell Law’s LII.
What to Watch Next
Procedurally, the case is just getting moving: summonses have gone out and Duos has already named lead counsel, so expect motions and early case-management deadlines to follow. Company leadership has told investors it plans to “vigorously pursue” its intellectual-property claims and has called out the alleged copying in investor communications, according to Duos’s earnings transcript. The federal docket, along with any initial filings from Norfolk Southern, will offer the first real look at how the railroad plans to respond or whether the parties might angle for an early settlement, since the public record so far leans heavily on Duos’s complaint and industry reporting.
The fight ties a high-profile piece of rail safety technology to a patent and unfair-competition battle that the rest of the freight world will be watching closely, as railroads, vendors and regulators look for clues on how courts will treat AI and imaging claims in this space. Local business outlets have already started tracking the clash between the Atlanta rail giant and the Jacksonville tech firm as the litigation and the rollout of inspection portals continue, according to Atlanta Business Chronicle.
