Charge Lion LLC v. STMicroelectronics N.V. et al

RPX took note, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the first half of March, of the transfer of one set of patents to Fortress Investment Group LLC, after the NPE assignor’s default on a prior financing agreement. Fortress intervened in the campaign asserting some of those patents, bringing the litigation to a relatively rapid close. RPX also took notice of the transfer of patents from multiple assignors to another entity, Knapp Investment Company Limited, a British Virgin Islands entity that has never filed suit. The records made available in early March also contain transfers to frequent plaintiffs, including affiliates of patent monetization firms IP Valuation Partners LLC and Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, as well as Blackbird Tech LLC and Empire IP LLC.

Charge Lion filed five separate suits against Linear Technology, Microchip Technology, Skyworks Solutions, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments, alleging that the defendants’ battery charger products infringe a patent related to alkaline battery charging.  Charge Lion filed three prior suits against Analog Devices, Maxim Integrated Products, and Semtech on October 12, 2012.  According to the complaint, Charge Lion is the owner by assignment of the patent-in-suit; however, this has not been recorded by the USPTO.  11/7, Eastern District of Texas, no judge yet assigned, 6:2012cv00858; 6:2012cv008859; 6:2012cv008860; 6:2012cv008861; 6:2012cv008862.