Cisco filed a complaint for declaratory judgment against Alberta Telecommunications Research Centre (ATRC) [NPE], seeking declaration that Cisco and its customers’ use of Cisco products does not infringe seven patents related to network provisioning and restoration.  According to the complaint, ATRC has sued at least six Cisco customers in actions currently pending in New Jersey and Colorado and has sent letters to other Cisco customers relating to their use of Cisco products and threatening to file suit over the same patents.  ATRC has filed nine prior suits since November 2005 against over fifteen defendants including AT&T, Dell, Samsung, Sony, Texas Instruments, and Verizon.  This is the first DJ filed against ATRC.  Wayne Grover is the lead inventor on each of the patents-in-suit, which were assigned to ATRC between November 1987 and September 2002.  6/26, Northern District of California, assigned to Magistrate Judge Nathanael M. Cousins, 3:2012cv03293.