Inventor-controlled SpeakWare, Inc. has kicked off a new litigation campaign, suing Alphabet (Google) (8:18-cv-01299), Amazon (8:18-cv-01303), Apple (8:18-cv-01302), Microsoft (8:18-cv-01293), and Samsung (8:18-cv-01300) over the provision of devices offering voice-controlled virtual assistants that can be used to control (smart home) appliances, along with associated servers and devices that serve as hubs to enable other accused devices to control appliances—e.g., Fire TV devices for Amazon, Apple TV devices for Apple, and the SmartThings Smart Hub for Samsung. Each complaint asserts a single patent generally related to a single voice-operated transmitter used for remote control of a variety of appliances.