Neo Wireless LLC (f/k/a CFIP NCF LLC)

The Unified Patent Court (UPC) has played an increasingly prominent role in European patent enforcement since its launch one year ago. Its broad jurisdiction offers key advantages to patent owners, allowing them to target infringement across 17 participating European Union (EU) member states in a single complaint—including claims over both traditional European patents (EPs) as well as the newly created European patents with unitary effect, or unitary patents. However, the court also allows companies to file similarly sweeping revocation actions, leading some patent owners to opt some of their EPs out of the court’s jurisdiction (as permitted during an initial seven-year transitional period) to protect those assets from invalidation before the UPC. Such opt-outs can fail, though, if all rights-holders are not accounted for, according to a recent decision by the UPC Court of Appeals—creating a potential pitfall for patent owners that have spread the ownership rights to their assets among multiple holding companies.

Mercedes Benz (3:22-cv-00780) and Stellantis (FCA US) (3:22-cv-01252) are the latest defendants to be added to the litigation campaign that Neo Wireless LLC (f/k/a CFIP NCF LLC), an entity associated with Fortress Investment Group LLC, launched in January 2021 with suits against Apple, Dell, and LG Electronics (LGE). In its latest complaints, the plaintiff asserts seven wireless networking patents, targeting the provision of automobile telematics systems that support the 4G/LTE, 5G, and/or 5G New Radio (NR) cellular networking standards.

New suits in the campaign of Neo Wireless LLC continue to target compatibility with 4G/LTE, 5G, and/or 5G New Radio (NR) standards—in this round by automobiles rather than by smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, and other mobile devices. The Fortress Investment Group LLC plaintiff kicked litigation off with early 2021 Western District of Texas cases against Apple, Dell, and LG Electronics (LGE), but its first suits since have shifted accusations to telematic systems within vehicles sold by Ford (4:22-cv-00210), GM (2:22-cv-00094), Honda (2:22-cv-01824), Nissan (3:22-cv-00220), Tesla (2:22-cv-00095), Toyota (2:22-cv-00093), and Volkswagen (1:22-cv-00076). Notably, these new cases were filed across disparate districts—rather than in a single Texas venue.

Fortress Investment Group LLC appears to be behind a new NPE that sued each of Apple, Dell, and LG Electronics (LGE) this past week over a range of smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, laptops, and other mobile devices. Meanwhile, public records suggest that Fortress is poised to launch another new campaign, that one involving patents from a familiar source.