North Plate Semiconductor, LLC

North Plate Semiconductor, LLC has filed a second suit in the litigation campaign that it began this past April. The new complaint asserts eight patents (6,501,129; 6,620,653; 6,667,515; 6,617,641; 6,469,398; 7,492,031; 7,459,751; 7,700,998) against Alpha and Omega Semiconductor (3:17-cv-04149), targeting the company’s Alpha MOS MOSFET, MOSFET DFN, Trench Power MOSFET, and IGBT families of power semiconductor devices. The ‘653, ‘515, and ‘641 patents were also at issue in the NPE’s first case, against IXYS, together with three others (6,765,239; 6,717,210; 6,936,893). That case ended in a quick dismissal with prejudice on July 11. The patents generally relate to certain semiconductor structures.

RPX took notice, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the first part of April, of the transfer of patents from operating companies including GlobalFoundries, NXP Semiconductors, Panasonic, and Toshiba. Also noted was an assignment of nearly 950 patents from Intellectual Ventures LLC to Monument Patent Holdings, LLC (one of the Top Ten NPEs in 2016, by defendants added and new campaigns filed). While some of April’s transactions involved patents that have already been litigated, most involve assets not yet seen in litigation, suggesting that the launch of several new campaigns is imminent.