Eclipse IP LLC v. Provide Commerce, Inc.

In a further expansion of its massive litigation campaign, Electronic Communication Technologies LLC (f/k/a Eclipse IP, LLC) (ECT) has made another eleven filings against a swath of online retailers. The NPE accuses Acecom (2:16-cv-01363), Action Envelope & Printing (2:16-cv-01364), Artbeads.com (2:16-cv-01365), Birthday Direct (2:16-cv-01366), Bulbs.com (2:16-cv-01367), CandyWarehouse.com (2:16-cv-01368), IHF Holdings (Icon Health & Fitness) (2:16-cv-01370), Gump’s Holdings (2:16-cv-01369), Parts Express (2:16-cv-01371), Super Warehouse (2:16-cv-01372), and Tea Living (d/b/a Tea Collection) (2:16-cv-01373) of infringing three patents (7,319,414; 7,876,239; 9,373,261) generally related to tracking shipments online and notifying recipients of their progress. As in a previous round of complaints filed by ECT in late September, these latest defendants are alleged to infringe through the order and shipping confirmation features offered by their respective websites. On December 8, just two days after each complaint was filed, ECT dropped the ‘414 and ‘239 patents from all eleven cases by amended complaint. ECT did the same on December 2 for its case against ShoppersChoice.com (9:16-cv-81677), one of the suits brought in the NPE’s September wave of filings.

Prolific NPE Electronic Communication Technologies LLC (f/k/a Eclipse IP, LLC) (ECT) has filed another wave of filings in its massive litigation campaign, hitting retailers Atman (9:16-cv-81671), Icahn Enterprises (Pep Boys) (9:16-cv-81676), Lakeshore Equipment Company (9:16-cv-81672), Minted (9:16-cv-81669), Orvis (9:16-cv-81675), and ShoppersChoice.com (9:16-cv-81677) over the order and shipping confirmation features offered by their respective websites. Each company is alleged to infringe three patents (7,319,414; 7,876,239; 9,373,261) generally related to tracking shipments online and notifying recipients of their progress.

Eclipse IP [NPE] filed suit against Provide Commerce, alleging that Provide Commerce’s electronic order, purchase, and product return status messaging and information systems that include URL links infringe five patents related to computer-based notification systems.  Eclipse IP has filed 10 prior suits since May 2011 against Aldo, America Honda Motor Company, Brickhouse Electronics, Cydea, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Footlocker.com, Hautelook, JP Boden USA, MeetMoi, Nespresso USA, and Steve Madden and was subject to one action for declaratory judgment brought by UPS in January 2011.  The patents asserted in previous cases by Eclipse IP have been related to computer-based notification systems, and were assigned by the inventor, Scott A. Hortstemeyer, to Martin Kelly Jones of ArrivalStar [NPE] before being assigned to Eclipse IP.  Scott A. Horstemeyer is reportedly a partner/attorney at the IP law firm, Thomas Kayden Horstemeyer & Risley LLP.  9/5, Southern District of California, assigned to Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo and referred to Magistrate Judge William McCurine, Jr, 3:2012cv02184.