Display Technologies, LLC - Texas

Valve has filed a second amended complaint in the Western District of Washington case (2:23-cv-01016) begun last July against Leigh M. Rothschild and three associated entities Display Technologies, LLC; Patent Asset Management, LLC; and Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems, LLC (RBDS), together with Rothschild counsel Meyler Legal, PLLC and its principal Samuel Meyler. The defendants have refiled a motion to dismiss the complaint in which they argue that Valve is “attempting to make ‘a mountain out of a mole hill’ by characterizing a simple clerical error as some sort of legal malfeasance” under the state’s “Patent Troll Protection Act”. Meanwhile, venue challenges in Eastern District of Texas cases filed this past September by three other Rothschild plaintiffs—Quantum Technology Innovations, LLC; Social Positioning Input Systems, LLC (SPIS); and Symbology Innovations, LLC—are ripening.

Display Technologies, LLC, an entity associated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild, has expanded its wireless connectivity campaign with suits against Microsoft (Activision Publishing) (2:24-cv-00043) and Wondershare Technology Group (2:24-cv-00046) in the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff asserts two patents generally related to transferring media files wirelessly between devices. Activision is accused of infringement through the provision of videogames that implement voice chat functionalities, while Wondershare is accused over the MobileTrans app, which supports features for transferring files from an iPhone to an Android smartphone.

This past week, Valve Corporation filed a Western District of Washington complaint (2:23-cv-01016) naming as defendants prolific inventor and plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild and three associated entities Display Technologies, LLC; Patent Asset Management, LLC; and Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems, LLC (RBDS), together with Rothschild counsel Meyler Legal, PLLC and its principal Samuel Meyler. Valve pleads claims of bad-faith patent assertion and unfair business practices under the Washington State Consumer Protection Act, arising via demands sent to Valve concerning the alleged infringement of patents that Valve pleads are covered by a 2016 license agreement with Display Technologies. Valve also pleads breach of contract, further asking the court for declaratory judgments, one for invalidity and another for unenforceability. Materials attached to Valve’s complaint suggest that the universe of “demands” from Rothschild-tied entities extends beyond those from the defendants named here.   

Display Technologies, LLC, an entity associated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild, has sued Ford (6:22-cv-00515) and Nissan (6:22-cv-00516) in the Western District of Texas and Rossmax (3:22-cv-00772) in the Southern District of California over the support of wireless connectivity in certain automobile infotainment systems (Ford and Nissan) and blood pressure monitor systems (Rossmax). A single patent generally related to transferring media files wirelessly between devices is asserted. Since launching its sole litigation campaign in 2015, Display Technologies has sued over 70 defendants and asserted two patents (both naming Rothschild as its inventor).

Last month, Display Technologies, LLC, an entity affiliated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild, sued Arkray (0:21-cv-02458) and Nonin Medical (0:21-cv-02456) in the District of Minnesota and BMW (6:21-cv-01214) in the Western District of Texas over the support of wireless connectivity in a wide range of products (i.e., blood glucose meters, pulse oximeters, and automotive infotainment systems, respectively). At issue in each complaint is a single patent generally related to transferring media files wirelessly between devices. Since launching its sole litigation campaign in 2015, Display Technologies has sued 60 defendants and asserted two patents (each naming Rothschild as its inventor).

As recently reported by RPX in its Q3 in Review, NPE litigation targeting the Automotive sector increased during the third quarter by over 180%. Several familiar faces in the patent monetization space launched or expanded automotive campaigns in Q3, including multiple NPEs tied by public records to third-party litigation funders. While the number of defendants sued in automotive campaigns remains relatively low as compared to other busy sectors, the litigation activity of several established plaintiffs in this space reflects sustained NPE interest.

Display Technologies, LLC, an entity affiliated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild, has filed additional litigation in its over six-year long litigation campaign, suing Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) (6:21-cv-00766) in the Western District of Texas, Greater Goods (4:21-cv-00988) in the Eastern District of Missouri, and Olympus (5:21-cv-03502) in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The plaintiff asserts a single patent, generally related to transferring media files wirelessly between devices, with Mercedes-Benz targeted over its automobile infotainment system and Greater Goods and Olympus over various software products. At issue are features for sharing files through Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth connectivity.

Display Technologies, LLC, an entity affiliated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild, has pushed the number of defendants in its sole litigation campaign to nearly 50, suing GM (6:21-cv-00240), Harley-Davidson (6:21-cv-00242), Honda (6:21-cv-00242), Toyota (6:21-cv-00304), and Volkswagen (Porsche) (6:21-cv-00230) in March alone. Infotainment systems are targeted, with these defendants joining several other vehicle makers in the campaign, including Aston Martin, against which Display Technologies has sought entry of a default judgment, with Rothschild providing a supportive declaration with an estimated damages range for that case.

Display Technologies, LLC, one of many NPEs controlled by inventor Leigh M. Rothschild, has sued AP Global (2:20-cv-05041), Faurecia (Clarion) (8:20-cv-01028), and Mazda (8:20-cv-01029), each in the Central District of California. A single patent generally related to wirelessly transferring media files between devices is asserted, with the defendants accused of infringement through the provision of media streaming products that feature Bluetooth connectivity: for AP Global and Mazda, the BlueSYNC BX speaker; and for Clarion, the Clarion Car Infotainment System.

NPE litigation in the Automotive market sector during the first four months of 2020 was up nearly threefold from the same time period last year. Most recently, 21ST CENTURY GARAGE LLC and Sisvel International S.A. (d/b/a Sisvel Group) have taken aim at companies operating in the sector, but the year so far has seen new campaigns launched by plaintiffs ranging from relatively recent entrants to patent monetization (e.g., Quartz Auto Technologies, LLC) to established players (e.g., Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.à.r.l.), as well as additional cases filed in existing campaigns waged by inventor-controlled Omega Patents, L.L.C. and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild. From wireless connectivity to more traditional automotive technologies, something about 2020 has drawn more litigation to the sector.

Display Technologies, LLC, an NPE controlled by inventor Leigh M. Rothschild, has filed suit against JVCKenwood (2:18-cv-07244) over the provision of certain Bluetooth-enabled automotive audio receivers—namely, Kenwood DPX792BH and DPX702BH. This campaign has been active since June 2015, with earlier cases focused on the alleged infringement by Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras and related image transfer apps, as well as by media transfer/streaming software, by the first member of a two-patent family. Since January 2017, the NPE’s complaints have turned to the second patent in the family, targeting NFC-capable products.

Display Technologies, LLC, one of the numerous NPEs controlled by inventor Leigh M. Rothschild, has filed a new round of cases in its ongoing litigation campaign. The plaintiff’s latest two lawsuits accuse Gibson Brands (Gibson Innovations) (1:17-cv-01426) and Pioneer (1:17-cv-01427) of infringement through the provision of various Bluetooth audio devices. Both are alleged to infringe through the provision of portable Bluetooth speakers, with Philips also alleged to infringe through Bluetooth-enabled home audio devices such as stereos, and Pioneer through Bluetooth-capable home theater systems. These two complaints, filed in Delaware, are the first that Display Technologies has filed outside of the Eastern District of Texas, and the first since its case against HTC was transferred from the latter district in June due to the US Supreme Court’s decision in TC Heartland.

RPX took notice, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the second half of August, of transfers to several frequent plaintiffs in litigation, including affiliates of Leigh M. Rothschild, IP Edge LLC, and Monument Patent Holdings, LLC.

Inventor Leigh M. Rothschild’s media transfer campaign is about to see its first transfer out of the Eastern District of Texas in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands (2016-0341). On June 20, Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne granted an unopposed motion to transfer to the Western District of Washington filed by HTC subsidiary HTC America in a case brought against it in January by the Rothschild-controlled NPE Display Technologies, LLC (2:17-cv-00070). That transfer motion explicitly cites TC Heartland and alleges that the original venue is improper because HTC America “does not have a regular and established place of business” in the Eastern District. The suit alleges infringement of a single media transfer patent (9,300,723) through the provision of Android-based smartphones offering Android Beam, a file-sharing feature that uses near-field communications (NFC) to initiate Bluetooth file transfers to another device.

Display Technologies, LLC, one of the many NPEs controlled by inventor Leigh M. Rothschild, has filed a fourth round of lawsuits in the litigation campaign that it began in June 2015. Canon (2:17-cv-00192), Nikon (2:17-cv-00193), Olympus (2:17-cv-00194), Panasonic (2:17-cv-00195), and Ricoh (2:17-cv-00196) are the new defendants, each accused of infringing a single media transfer patent (9,300,723) through the manufacture and sale of cameras with near field communication (NFC) and Wi-Fi features, together with related file-sharing apps. This most recent wave follows four January suits, one each against BLU Products, HTC, LG Electronics, and ZTE.

Display Technologies, LLC, one of the many NPEs controlled by inventor Leigh M. Rothschild, has rebooted its sole litigation campaign with four new lawsuits against BLU Products (2:17-cv-00067), HTC (2:17-cv-00070), LG Electronics (2:17-cv-00069), and ZTE (2:17-cv-00068). The companies are accused of infringing a single media transfer patent (9,300,723) related to the one asserted in previous lawsuits (8,671,195), which targeted makers of Wi-Fi-enabled digital cameras and related image transfer apps (C&A IP Holdings, JK Imaging, Ricoh, GoPro) along with providers of software allowing media transfer and streaming (NVIDIA, Sony, Samsung, Valve). At issue in the new complaints are Android-based smartphones offering Android Beam, a file-sharing feature that uses near-field communications (NFC) to initiate Bluetooth file transfers to another device.

RPX took note of eleven patent transfers to NPEs recorded during the first half of November 2016. Assignees included entities controlled by Wi-LAN, Inc.; Marathon Patent Holdings, LLC; or IP Valuation Partners LLC; NPEs apparently affiliated with Intellectual Ventures LLC or Equitable IP Corporation; and entities managed by Erik Stamell, Leigh M. Rothschild, or Nicolas J. Labbit. Also this month, BlackBird Tech LLC, which has waged 11 litigation campaigns to date, acquired a patent that was asserted against 70 companies in a large NPE campaign that closed earlier this year.

Display Technologies, LLC, yet another entity controlled by Leigh M. Rothschild, has doubled the number of defendants in the litigation campaign that it initiated in June. Display Technologies has now added C&A IP Holdings (Polaroid) (2:15-cv-01633), GoPro (2:15-cv-01634), JK Imaging (Kodak) (2:15-cv-01632), and Ricoh (2:15-cv-01631) to prior defendants NVIDIA, Samsung, Sony, and Valve. All of the complaints assert a single patent (8,671,195) generally concerning a digital communication protocol to transmit media files wirelessly between multiple devices. Defendants’ services that allow users to sync activity and access content on multiple devices are accused of infringement.

Inventor-controlled Display Technologies, LLC initiated its first campaign with suits against NVIDIA, Samsung, Sony, and Valve. The four separate complaints assert a single patent concerning a digital communication protocol to transmit data wirelessly between multiple devices (8,671,195). Defendants’ services that allow users to sync activity and access content on multiple devices are accused of infringing the ‘195 patent.