Evolved Wireless, LLC v. Microsoft Corporation, et al CAFC

This past week, Senior District Judge Joseph F. Bataillon signed a sealed order closing cases that Evolved Wireless LLC brought in June 2015 against HTC, Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), Microsoft, Samsung, and ZTE. The order follows a proposed stipulation by the parties to stay those suits to await the outcome of the plaintiff’s appeal (19-2362) from a judgment, entered in the sixth June 2015 case in the campaign after a Delaware jury found this past April that Apple does not infringe either patent-in-suit. Last week also saw Evolved Wireless file its opening appellate brief, which argues that the district court erred by refusing to order a new trial based on several arguments, including because the trial court kept from the jury evidence allegedly “inconsistent with Apple’s arguments at trial that [the patent subject to the appeal] is not essential to the LTE standard”.

In March 2018, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw petitions for inter partes review (IPR) filed in a variety of notable campaigns, including those waged by publicly traded Quarterhill Inc.; privately held XR Communications, LLC; and inventor Leigh M. Rothschild. The Board also instituted trial throughout March in campaigns brought by Oyster Optics, LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited. In addition, the PTAB granted in March a motion to amend in two IPRs against prolific plaintiff Realtime Data, LLC, also issuing final decisions involving patents asserted by Uniloc; Papst Licensing GmbH & Company Kg; Evolved Wireless LLC; Game and Technology Co., Ltd; and TQ Delta LLC.

Evolved Wireless LLC launched its first litigation campaign with suits against Apple (1:15-cv-00542), HTC (1:15-cv-00543), Lenovo (1:15-cv-00544), Microsoft (1:15-cv-00547), Samsung (1:15-cv-00545), and ZTE (1:15-cv-00546). The suits assert five former LG Electronics (LGE) patents, which relate to transmitting mobile communication data and equipment for doing the same (7,746,916, 7,768,965, 7,809,373, 7,881,236, 8,218,481). LTE-capable mobile devices, including phones, tablets, and laptops, are accused of infringing the patents-in-suit.