Digital Stream IP LLC v. General Motors LLC

Digital Stream IP, LLC, an affiliate of monetization firm Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC and its litigating arm, Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, has filed suit against Sirius XM (1:18-cv-00087), following dismissals of cases against BMW, CBS Radio, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), and iHeartMedia in the second half of 2017. The new complaint asserts one of three patents, generally related to digital audio tuners, already at issue in previous cases filed in the campaign.

Monument Patent Holdings, LLC appears to have rebooted the content delivery campaign that it began this past April. The NPE, through its controlled plaintiff Pure Data Systems, LLC, has notified the Eastern District of Texas of its voluntarily dismissal (without prejudice) of the cases that it filed three months ago against CBS (CBS Interactive, CNET), Time Warner (CNN Interactive), Twenty-First Century Fox (Fox Broadcasting, Fox News, Fox Sports), and Gannett (USA Today). At the same time, Pure Data has filed a new Delaware case against EnterpriseDB (1:17-cv-00876), asserting the same two patents (5,999,947; 6,321,236) previously at issue. The patents generally relate to the distribution of database differences; accused of infringement is the defendant’s system for replicating such differences on client computers as needed. The move to Delaware follows a similar jump in another Monument campaign, filed by controlled subsidiary Digital Stream IP, LLC over satellite and digital radio.

Digital Stream IP, LLC, an affiliate of Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, has added two cases to its radio communications campaign, suing CBS (CBS Radio) (2:17-cv-00313) and iHeartMedia (2:17-cv-00315) over one (the ‘913 patent) of the three patents (6,757,913; 7,962,090; 8,265,545) already at issue. The patents generally relate to digital audio receivers; Digital Stream IP’s earlier cases have focused on the sale of satellite radio units, made by, for example, Sirius XM, and sold in automobiles, including the vehicles sold by defendants BMW, Daimler (Mercedes-Benz), GM, Honda, and Nissan. These two newest complaints target digital audio transmitters used with CBS and iHeart radio stations.

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board saw the filing of petitions against a host of publicly traded NPEs in February, including Acacia Research Corporation, Pendrell Corporation, Wi-LAN Inc. (WiLAN), and Xperi Corporation (f/k/a Tessera Holding Corporation), with challenges also filed in campaigns waged by Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV); IP Bridge, Inc.; Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited; and Monument Patent Holdings, LLC.

Digital Stream IP, LLC, an affiliate of Dominion Harbor Group, LLC and Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, has added two more automakers to its satellite radios campaign, just as another exits. The NPE’s new complaints assert three patents (6,757,913; 7,962,090; 8,265,545) against BMW (2:16-cv-00982) and Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) (2:16-cv-00981), targeting the digital audio receivers in the defendants’ multiple vehicles.

Digital Stream IP, LLC, a Texas-based NPE controlled by Monument Patent Holdings, LLC, has started a new litigation campaign asserting three patents related to digital audio receivers (6,757,913; 7,962,090; 8,265,545). In two filings on March 11, the entity sued Best Buy (2:16-cv-00203) and General Motors (2:16-cv-00204) in the Eastern District of Texas, alleging infringement through the sale of automotive satellite radio units. These are the NPE’s only lawsuits to date.