Altair Logix LLC v. Phytec America LLC DC

As part of the monetization firm’s end-of-November sprint, apparent IP Edge LLC plaintiff Jade Licensing LLC filed a Western District of Texas suit against Broadcom (Brocade Communications Systems) (6:21-cv-01239) over a single patent originally issuing to Huawei. Jade Licensing accuses Brocade of infringing the optical communications patent through the provision of optical transceiver modules. Its new case follows on the heels of a magistrate judge’s report and recommendation that suggests that another IP Edge plaintiff, well into a larger campaign over another patent acquired from the same source, is on its way to defeating an Alice challenge.

For several years running, IP Edge LLC has been responsible for the most defendants added to NPE litigation campaigns throughout each calendar year. 2019 was no different. Last year saw roughly 400 defendants added to campaigns launched by plaintiffs associated with the Texas monetization firm, the campaigns spanning a wide range of technologies and now involving suits filed (and typically litigated in file-and-settle fashion) in myriad districts. A quick glance at the NPE’s January filings suggests that 2020 will see more of the same, while a recent Alice ruling may have just ended one of IP Edge’s 2019 campaigns.

IP Edge LLC, which RPX data shows has cumulatively added more defendants to patent lawsuits than any other plaintiff since 2000, was relatively quiet during the first two quarters of 2018. Q3, however, saw an uptick in IP Edge activity, with various affiliates launching five new campaigns targeting a wide range of technologies.