Dowling and Westerlund behind New NPE Suit Targeting Portable VoIP Providers
Internet Communications Solutions (ICS) [NPE] filed suit against Tiger Jet Networks, YMax, Vocaltec, and magicJack over a patent related to systems for providing portableVoIP services. This is the first suit filed by ICS. The patent-in-suit issued in April 2011 and, according to the PTO, is currently assigned to Patent Monetization Associates along with two other issued patents and two pending applications from inventor-attorneys Eric Dowling and Robert Westerlund. Another NPE, Personal Voice Freedom, has asserted a patent with broader claims and an earlier priority date related to VoIP modules and also targeting service providers. The Personal Voice Freedom patent does not appear to have been considered by the examiner during prosecution of the Westerlund/Dowling patent. 7/20, Eastern District of Texas, 6:2011cv00375.