Core Optical Technologies, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al DC

Inventor-controlled Core Optical Technologies LLC has filed suit against Acacia Communications (8:21-cv-01473), which Cisco acquired earlier this year. Cisco is already a defendant in Core Optical’s campaign, as are ADVA, Juniper Networks, and Nokia, as well as multiple customers of the optical networking systems and hardware of each. The customer suits have been stayed, but the cases against the four providers have proceeded apace over the summer, with claim construction briefing complete, a motion to disqualify mooted by a swap of litigation counsel, and multiple motions to dismiss for lack of standing filed, alleging that “Core Optical never had rights in the [sole asserted] patent. Instead, TRW (now Northrop Grumman) owned the [] patent entirely at the outset by operation of the TRW assignment agreement”.

In April 2021, Core Optical Technologies LLC rounded out its set of lawsuits against manufacturers of optical networking systems and hardware—ADVA, Cisco, Juniper Networks, and Nokia—with two more customer suits. Core Optical filed a suit against Alphabet (Google), Apple, AT&T, Bloomberg, Equinix, and Verizon (5:21-cv-03075), all alleged customers of Juniper Networks, in the Northern District of California, to which an earlier Central District of California suit against Juniper was recently transferred. Core Optical also filed a case against AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Google, Microsoft, and Verizon (8:21-cv-00789), all alleged customers of Cisco, back in the Central District. At this point, the entire campaign centers around the alleged infringement of certain method claims of a single expired patent.

Having recently survived a motion challenging prior claims against Juniper Networks and Nokia, inventor-controlled Core Optical Technologies, LLC has made clear in its new Central District of California complaints—against Alphabet (Google), Apple, CenturyLink (d/b/a Lumen Technologies), Comcast, Cox Communications, Nokia (Alcatel Submarine Networks), and Zayo Group (8:21-cv-00046); and both Amazon and Lumen Technologies (8:21-cv-00049)—that it is asserting only method claims of the single patent-in-suit. That patent generally relates to separating multiple optical signals (“waveforms”) on the same frequency using a cross-polarization interface canceler technique. Core Optical accuses the defendants in the -46 case of infringement through the use of products already identified in a prior suit filed directly against Nokia, while the plaintiff targets in the -49 case the defendants’ alleged use of products previously identified in a suit against ADVA.

In early July, Judge A. Kronstadt of the Central District of California took under submission multiple early motions, filed separately by Juniper Networks and Nokia, in cases brought against them by inventor-controlled Core Optical Technologies, LLC in November 2019. Among other things, each defendant moved to dismiss the complaint against it for failure to plead satisfaction of the marking requirements under Section 287 by prior licensees Fujitsu, Ciena, and Infinera. As the parties await Judge Kronstadt’s rulings, Core Optical has filed two new cases in the same district, one each against ADVA Optical Networking (8:20-cv-01463) and Cisco (8:20-cv-01468).