Magnacross LLC v. Multi-Tech Systems, Inc. DC

Patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC has historically favored a file-and-settle strategy, usually dismissing its district court cases before any substantive litigation occurs. Yet amid signs that IP Edge may be moving away from this strategy, a recent order against its affiliate MagnaCross LLC showcases the potential perils of slapdash litigation. Late last month, Northern District of Texas Chief Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn issued a ruling that slammed MagnaCross with $5K in sanctions for copy-and-pasting sections of an opposition brief to an Alice motion, which the court also granted in that same order—invalidating the sole asserted patent claim. Notably, the decision also rejected the plaintiff’s last-ditch attempt to construe an email sent by opposing counsel as an agreement to settle the case.

Northern District of Texas Chief Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn just slapped MagnaCross LLC and its litigation counsel with $5K in sanctions for “filing a brief that contained sections copied and pasted from a brief in another case, which referenced different and irrelevant claims” of the sole patent-in-suit. The court did so while invalidating under Alice the only claim from the patent actually asserted in the case, which has hit more than 100 defendants since October 2014. The defendant, OKI Electric Industry (OKI Data), has filed a quick motion for attorney fees, adding this campaign to list of those under the IP Edge LLC umbrella to face an Alice-Octane one-two punch.

For several years running, IP Edge LLC has been responsible for the most defendants added to NPE litigation campaigns throughout each calendar year. 2019 was no different. Last year saw roughly 400 defendants added to campaigns launched by plaintiffs associated with the Texas monetization firm, the campaigns spanning a wide range of technologies and now involving suits filed (and typically litigated in file-and-settle fashion) in myriad districts. A quick glance at the NPE’s January filings suggests that 2020 will see more of the same, while a recent Alice ruling may have just ended one of IP Edge’s 2019 campaigns.

IP Edge LLC affiliate MagnaCross LLC has filed a fresh round of lawsuits, capping off a wave of year-end litigation by other NPEs also controlled by the prolific monetization firm. The latest MagnaCross complaints target Avaya (2:16-cv-01461), Comtrend (2:16-cv-01462), EnGenius (2:16-cv-01463), Huawei (2:16-cv-01464), Juniper Networks (2:16-cv-01465), Siemens (2:16-cv-01466), and Sierra Wireless (2:16-cv-01467), accusing the companies of infringing a single patent (6,917,304) generally related to wireless data transmission through the provision of wireless access points or routers.