Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. v. Apple Inc. DC

Last week, District Judge Nathanael M. Cousins of the Northern District of California dealt Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) another blow in its long-running litigation campaign over former Nokia patents. An August 2018 Federal Circuit opinion upset an earlier jury verdict and judgment that Apple had infringed two Conversant patents, for which the jury had awarded $7.3M in damages. The appeals court reversed the jury’s finding of infringement as to one patent and vacated the trial court’s determination that the other patent was not unenforceable due to a failure to disclose to a related standard-setting body. On remand, Judge Cousins granted the motion for unenforceability, entering judgment in Apple’s favor. Meanwhile, in Texas, Conversant filed a new case against LG Electronics (LGE) (2:19-cv-00142) over patents at the heart of a recent win before a jury there, the new complaint targeting subsequently released LGE products.

A Texas jury has returned a new damages verdict in litigation brought by Conversant Wireless Licensing S.à.r.l. (f/k/a Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l.) against LG Electronics (LGE) (2:14-cv-00912). In September 2016, another jury issued a verdict of infringement in the case’s first trial against LGE, but the court granted LGE a new trial on damages in September 2018 due to a series of errors made by the plaintiff’s damages expert. The resulting verdict in that second trial included a damages award of $3.5M.

The Federal Circuit has upheld a victory for Apple in a lawsuit brought by Luxembourg-based NPE Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. (2015-2037). In an opinion issued on April 14, the court affirmed District Judge Rodney Gilstrap’s denial of the NPE’s motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial, which followed a Texas jury’s March 2015 verdict that the company’s mobile devices did not infringe five wireless communications patents (6,266,321; 6,978,143; 7,383,022; 7,599,664; 7,804,850).

On December 15, a jury in the Northern District of California found that Apple has infringed two wireless communications patents (6,477,151; 6,633,536) through its mobile devices, awarding Luxembourg-based Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. $7.3M in damages (5:15-cv-05008). Thursday’s decision comes after a recent win for Apple against Ameranth, Inc. related to another lawsuit involving iOS; see “Federal Circuit Expands Alice Invalidation of Ameranth Patents in Apple CBM Reviews” (December 2016).

A Texas jury has found that LG Electronics (LGE) willfully infringed two wireless communication patents (6,633,536; 7,804,850) through its Android smartphones (2:14-cv-00912). In a verdict handed down on September 16, the jury awarded plaintiff Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. $2.3M in damages. This decision follows a recent victory for LGE in the same litigation campaign; last month, District Judge Rodney Gilstrap granted a new trial on damages in the second of two lawsuits brought by Core Wireless against the company. For more information on that order, see “LG Electronics Wins New Damages Trial in $3.5M Core Wireless Case” (August 2016).

LG Electronics (LGE) has been granted a new trial on damages against Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l., following a Texas jury’s March finding that the company had infringed two user interface patents (8,713,476; 8,434,020) asserted against it by the Luxembourg-based NPE. In a memorandum opinion and order issued on August 23, District Judge Rodney Gilstrap ruled that the jury’s damages award had not been supported by sufficient evidence, accepting LGE’s arguments that a Core Wireless damages expert had provided the jury with a flawed reasonable royalty calculation. Judge Gilstrap also declined to grant a new trial on the issues of infringement and the asserted invalidity of the patents-in-suit.

A Texas jury has found that LG Electronics (LGE) infringed two smartphone user interface patents (8,713,476; 8,434,020) asserted against it by Luxembourg-based Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l. (2:14-cv-00911). In a verdict issued on March 24, the jury determined that LGE had infringed claims 11 and 13 of the ‘020 patent and claims 8 and 9 of the ‘476 patent through its sale of various phones and smartphones. The jury also concluded that LGE had not shown that the asserted claims were invalid.

On October 27, 2015, District Judge Rodney Gilstrap transferred two cases (6:14-cv-00751, 6:14-cv-00752) filed against Apple in the Eastern District of Texas by Core Wireless Licensing S.a.r.l., a subsidiary of Conversant Intellectual Property Management, Inc. The judge ordered the cases to be transferred to the Northern District of California after adopting the report and recommendation of Magistrate John D. Love that California provided a “clearly more convenient” forum to try the cases.

Core Wireless SARL filed two new suits against Apple, the second and third suits filed by the Conversant subsidiary since it began litigating its patents in 2012. All three of Core Wireless’s cases name Apple as the sole defendant although each case asserts a different group of patents. Of the newly filed suits, one asserts a group of patents related to a communication connection over a radio network (5,946,634, 6,477,151, 6,633,536, 7,773,708, 7,782,818, RE44,828). In the complaint, Core Wireless states that the asserted patents were declared essential to mobile communication standards by previous owner, Nokia, and that Core Wireless previously approached Apple about a license. The other suit asserts patents related to various features of a mobile device, including the display, location-finding capabilities, and sending and receiving information (5,907,823, 7,072,667, 7,693,552, 8,434,020, 8,498,671, 8,713,476). Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices are accused of infringing the asserted patents in both suits. The patents-in-suit originated with Nokia, and have not been used in previous litigation. Core Wireless acquired the patents in late August 2011 from Nokia patent trust. The assignment also included a security agreement between Core Wireless and Nokia. 9/10, Eastern District of Texas, 6:14cv00751, 6:14cv00752