Pineapple34, LLC v. Sony Electronic Inc. DC

ASUSTek (6:21-cv-01170), Honeywell (6:21-cv-01171), HP (6:21-cv-01180), and Lenovo (6:21-cv-01174) are the latest defendants to be added to the sole litigation campaign of Pineapple34, LLC, launched in February of this year. The plaintiff asserts three patents in overlapping sets; Pineapple34 received each of the patents in a portfolio of over 40 from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV). The defendants are accused of infringement through the provision of a range of features (e.g., the support of computer peripherals, Find My Device software, and location monitoring capabilities) within a variety of devices (e.g.¸ laptops, smartphones, and tracking devices).

Dismissals without prejudice have ended separate cases filed earlier this year by Pineapple34, LLC against Dell, Hon Hai Precision Industry (Dynabook), LG Electronics (LGE), Microsoft, Panasonic, and Sony. Those departures left active only the Western District of Texas suit against Alphabet (Google)—until late last week, when Pineapple34 sued Acer (6:21-cv-00580) and Fujitsu (6:21-cv-00581), both in the Western District of Texas as well. The plaintiff targets each over the support of computer peripherals and the Windows Find My Device software in the new defendants’ respective laptops and tablets.

Pineapple34, LLC is quickly growing its recently launched litigation campaign, filing separate suits this past week against Alphabet (Google) (6:21-cv-00293), Dell (6:21-cv-00306), and LG Electronics (LGE) (6:21-cv-00295) in the Western District of Texas. The plaintiff asserts six patents in overlapping sets, two of which are new to litigation; Pineapple34 received each of the patents in a portfolio of over 40 from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) in May 2020. The defendants are accused of infringement through the provision of a range of features (e.g., the support of computer peripherals, Find My Device software, sensor monitoring, and cellular network functionalities) within a variety of devices (e.g., cameras, laptops, refrigerators, smartphones, etc.).

Pineapple34, LLC has begun litigating the portfolio of 40 plus patents that it acquired from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) in May of last year. The Texas NPE has sued Hon Hai Precision Industry (Dynabook) (6:21-cv-00149), Microsoft (6:21-cv-00150), and Sony (6:21-cv-00151) in the Western District of that state; Panasonic (2:21-cv-00053), in the Eastern District. The accused products in the campaign so far include laptops, portable projectors, smartphones, and other devices, with initial infringement allegations targeting a variety of features, including virtual keyboards, computer peripherals, Find My Device software, and certain cellular network functionalities.