UNM Rainforest Innovations v. Dell Technologies Inc. et al

ZyXEL Communications (6:20-cv-00522) has become the sixth defendant in one of two active campaigns waged by STC.UNM, the intellectual property enforcement arm for the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico (UNM). This campaign concerns several data transmission patents developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), claims terms from which District Judge Alan D. Albright has construed in an April 2020 order. Judge Albright of the Western District of Texas moved into claim construction after denying a convenience transfer of the case, in which Apple is the defendant, to the Northern District of California. Apple has asked the Federal Circuit to reverse that refusal to transfer, arguing that it “continues to challenge the district court’s plainly erroneous venue rulings because they have effectively eliminated [convenience] transfers for patent defendants sued in the Waco Division” of the Western District.

STC.UNM, the intellectual property enforcement arm for the Board of Regents of the University of New Mexico (UNM), has added yet another case to the litigation campaign that it began in April 2019 over several data transmission patents developed by Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). The newest defendant is Dell (EMC) (6:20-cv-00468), sued in the Western District of Texas, where District Judge Alan D. Albright recently handed down an order construing disputed terms from the same three patents, in a case filed against Apple last summer. The order, dated April 9, 2020, indicated that the court intended to enter a memorandum in support of its rulings “shortly”; the memo has not yet been added to the docket.