In a latest round of complaints, VideoLabs, Inc., this time without its subsidiary VL Collective IP, LLC as coplaintiff, has asserted two video/audio coding patents already at issue in the campaign, as well as a third patent of similar subject matter but new to the litigation and a fourth patent, also new, this one generally related to a “portable terminal for displaying data on a screen”. Each of the four defendants in this round—Acer (6:22-cv-00719), ASUSTek (6:22-cv-00720), Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) (6:22-cv-00721), and Micro-Star International (6:22-cv-00722)—has been accused in the Western District of Texas of infringement through the provision of a wide variety of devices (e.g., computers, smart displays, smartphones, tablets).

Nightmist IP LLC, a plaintiff associated with patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC, has filed its first litigation over a single patent generally related to a mobile device with a touchscreen where text can be input using flick gestures made upon a one-third-sized (“⅓ side”) area located at either side of the screen. The defendants are Acer (6:22-cv-00705), sued in the Western District of Texas; Durabook (1:22-cv-05591), in the Southern District of New York; Lenovo (1:22-cv-00869), LG Electronics (LGE) (1:22-cv-00868), and Panasonic (1:22-cv-00867), in the District of Delaware; and WinMate Communication (1:22-cv-02620), in the Northern District of Georgia.

Texas monetization firm IP Edge LLC has been the most prolific NPE plaintiff over the last several years, filing hundreds of cases through various LLCs over the alleged infringement of patents from a wide variety of sources. The LLC plaintiffs have typically conducted their campaigns in file-and-dismiss fashion, lately at around a 50 case-per-month clip across the IP Edge board, but certain entities associated with the firm have departed from that approach since 2020—and two LLCs created in Texas in June of this year suggest that such departures may continue.

Roughly two weeks after its suit against Samsung was dismissed, on the verge of a Western District of Texas trial, Theta IP, LLC has sued Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) (1:22-cv-03441) in the Northern District of Illinois. The plaintiff asserts three of its patents, generally related to reducing power dissipation in wireless transceivers, touting the background and accomplishments of named inventor Yannis Tsividis, a professor of electrical engineering at Columbia University and targeting the purported inclusion of “radios that employ these patented power-saving designs and methods across the entirety of its mobile phone and cellular-enabled tablet lineup offered in the United States”.

Late last week, District of Delaware Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly handed down an order that may impact the damages that VLSI Technology LLC seeks from Intel in the case. No, the court has not yet weighed in on the license defense—based on Fortress Investment Group LLC’s 2020 purchase of Finjan, Inc.—that Intel has raised or sought to raise in federal courts in California and Texas, as well as Delaware. The docket remains silent on that score, despite repeated pelting from the parties concerning the actions of Western District of Texas Judge Alan D. Albright. Rather, Judge Connolly granted a motion to preclude VLSI’s technology expert from testifying that…

A single patent generally related to “automating compliance with local broadcasting regulations” has been asserted in a new campaign initiated by SafeCast Limited against Alphabet (Google) (6:22-cv-00678), AT&T (6:22-cv-00676), DISH Network (6:22-cv-00677), HBO (6:22-cv-00679), NBC Universal (6:22-cv-00680), Paramount Global (f/k/a ViacomCBS)(6:22-cv-00682), and Verizon (6:22-cv-00683). The plaintiff targets the provision of “addressable TV platform[s] that deliver[] household-specific TV advertising based on advertiser-defined target audience in a privacy-[compliant] manner”.

SurgeTech, LLC has filed its first litigation, suing Uber (1:22-cv-00882) over the provision of various services (Uber, Uber Eats, Uber Driver, Uber Freight, Uber Fleet, and Uber Eats Manager), targeting the surge pricing feature. Two patents generally related to a system for “managing online bookings for transportation services inventory” by adjusting prices based on the “performance rating” of a distribution channel are at issue in the new District of Delaware complaint. The assignment history for the patents-in-suit suggest that SurgeTech has the backing of a “boutique litigation funder”.

District Judge Alan D. Albright has reiterated that delivery of a complaint to the Texas Secretary of State does not effect service on a Chinese defendant because the Secretary is required by statute to forward the process via mail and China has objected to the portion of the Hague Service Convention that permits service by mail. The court further denied a request by the plaintiff, Buffalo Patents, LLC, for alternative service because it had “not attempted to follow the service of process procedures in the Hague Service Convention, but rather asks this Court to permit plaintiffs to sidestep those procedures from the outset”. On these bases, Judge Albright granted ZTE’s motion to dismiss, prompting Buffalo Patents to refile its case five days later even as it filed a notice of appeal of the court’s dismissal.

Lonestar Biometrics LLC has filed its first litigation, suing OnePlus (2:22-cv-00239), Samsung (2:22-cv-00240), TCL (2:22-cv-00241), and ZTE (2:22-cv-00242) over the provision of smartphones “with optical fingerprint scanners embedded beneath the display screen”, calling out the OnePlus 10 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, TCL 20 Pro, and ZTE Axon 30 Ultra, respectively. The plaintiff identifies as its corporate parent an entity familiar to patent monetization; however, the source of the three asserted patents suggests that the new Lonestar Biometrics campaign marks a bit of a departure for that corporate parent.

ServStor Technologies, LLC has followed its separate May 2022 suits against Quanta Computer (2:22-cv-00162) and Wiwynn (2:22-cv-00161), filed in the Eastern District of Texas, with a case against Acer (2:22-cv-00221) in the same in the district. Five patents, four originating with Crystal Group and one with Zetera, are aimed at the provision of various computing devices, including servers and related products (e.g., enclosures, server cards, and software). ServStor is the third of four entities formed last August in association with Atlanta-based monetization firm IPInvestments Group LLC (d/b/a IPinvestments Group) to launch litigation over patents subsequently received from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV).