Godo Kaisha IP Bridge 1 (IP Bridge 1), a subsidiary of Japanese patent monetization firm IP Bridge, Inc., filed an affirmative case asserting two former Panasonic patents (7,265,450; 7,893,501) against Xilinx (2:17-cv-00100) in the Eastern District of Texas on January 31, the expiration date of a standstill agreement entered into by the two parties to facilitate licensing discussions. The next day, Xilinx filed a complaint (3:17-cv-00509) in the Northern District of California that seeks declaratory judgments that the company does not infringe any valid claim from twelve former Panasonic patents (6,483,151; 6,492,665; 6,653,731; 6,873,052; 6,969,915; 7,053,461; 7,417,289; 7,525,189; 7,564,102; 7,728,439; 8,203,186; 8,278,763) held by IP Bridge 1. All fourteen patents at issue in the two cases generally relate to various aspects of semiconductor fabrication. The day after expiration of a similar standstill agreement (July 1, 2016), Finjan, Inc. (3:16-cv-03731) and ESET (3:16-cv-01704) filed competing complaints in the Northern and Southern Districts of California, respectively; Finjan won that battle but appears to have lost the war, as last week the Northern District granted a motion to change venue, transferring the case before it down to the Southern District (3:17-cv-00183).