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Dominion Harbor Begins Assertion of Patents from a Large Portfolio of Former NEC Patents
Patent Market, Patent Watch
Vista Peak Ventures, LLC, an affiliate of Dominion Harbor Enterprises, LLC, has filed its first cases asserting patents from a large portfolio of former NEC patents that it acquired from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) earlier this year. The plaintiff has targeted flat panel displays sold by Taiwanese manufacturers AU Optronics, spread across three cases (2:18-cv-00276, -00278, -00279), or Innolux (2:18-cv-00280, -00281, -00282, -00283), spread across four cases, all filed in the Eastern District of Texas. The seven new complaints together assert 21 patents from the former NEC portfolio—a total of 13 against AU Optronics and a total of 20 against Innolux.
July 10, 2018
Inventor-Controlled NPE Targets “Do Not Disturb” Feature in Apple iOS 11
Inventor-controlled SMTM Technology, LLC has filed a new complaint, accusing Apple (3:15-cv-02396) of infringing a single patent generally related to placing a mobile device in an “inactive mode” while paired with a vehicle. The plaintiff briefly asserted the same patent in a barebones, May 2015 complaint filed in the Northern District of California against Microsoft, targeting that company’s Lumia mobile phones; that case was voluntarily dismissed (with prejudice) within one month of its filing. In the new complaint, SMTM Technology’s infringement allegations focus on the “‘Do Not Disturb’ while driving software” within Apple’s iOS 11.
July 10, 2018
VIS Litigates Recently Issued Patents While Prosecuting Multiple, Related Applications
Last August, Virginia Innovation Sciences, Inc. (VIS) filed additional, separate cases against Amazon and HTC, asserting patents that had just issued in a large family already in litigation against the two companies. Those suits were dismissed without prejudice shortly thereafter, apparently to let the earlier cases play out. They now have—at least partially. In an April 2018 per curiam decision, the Federal Circuit upheld judgments from the Eastern District of Virginia ending cases in Amazon’s and HTC’s favor as to most of the patents asserted, and earlier in the year, VIS appealed subsequent orders in the defendants’ favor as to the remaining patents. Rather than await outcomes in those second appeals, VIS has opened up new cases against both Amazon (4:18-cv-00474) and HTC (4:18-cv-00476), this time asserting even newer patents, issuing in March 2018 and April 2018, as well as reasserting those August 2017 patents. The plaintiff has also filed separate cases against Honeywell (4:18-cv-00475) and Philadelphia Contributionship Mutual (Vector Security) (4:18-cv-00477), asserting one of the 2018 patents also at issue against Amazon and HTC. All of this new litigation has been filed in the Eastern District of Texas, rather than in Virginia.
July 8, 2018
A Batch of Network Security Patents, Held for Years by IV, Appear in Recent Litigation Campaign
FireNet Technologies, LLC has followed up last month’s case against KEMP Technologies (1:18-cv-05564) in the Southern District of New York with a second suit in the campaign, this one filed against Fujitsu (2:18-cv-00270) in the Eastern District of Texas. Both complaints assert four patents, generally related to network security, recently received from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV). Fujitsu is accused of infringement through the provision of “networking products and services with firewall security, including, but not limited to, implementations comprising Fujitsu servers (such as PRIMERGY servers), Fujitsu storage equipment (such as ETERNUS servers), and incorporating Fujitsu network security solutions, such as NS Appliance and/or NS Options, including their dedicated, hardware, and cloud implementations”.
July 7, 2018
PTAB Sees Activity Involving Top NPEs, both Past and Present, in June 2018
In June 2018, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw petitioners wage validity challenges against a variety of prominent NPEs. Among those hit by petitions for AIA review in June was Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV), which has not filed any new litigation in the US since October 2017, but continues to assert patents overseas; and NPEs affiliated with Fortress Investment Group LLC and Industrial Technology Research Institute. Also in June, the PTAB instituted trial for two IPRs against affiliates of top litigant IP Edge LLC, which remains the most prolific patent plaintiff of the past 18 years by the number of defendants added to US patent suits. In addition, the Board issued final decisions in IPRs against IV, the California Institute of Technology, inventor Daniel L. Flamm, and frequent litigants Realtime Data LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited.
July 7, 2018
While Forging Ahead with Litigation in the US and Europe, Finjan Brings in Another Big Licensing Deal
Finjan Holdings, Inc. ended the second quarter of 2018 with yet another multi-million dollar deal, this one with Trend Micro. Under an agreement effective June 29, Trend Micro will obtain a license to Finjan’s cybersecurity patent portfolio for $13.4M. Trend Micro—which was sued in May by CUPP CyberSecurity LLC (an entity apparently unrelated to Finjan) over patents naming Finjan’s founder as inventor—has also agreed to transfer “select security-related patent assets” to Finjan. This appears to be the third large deal closed by Finjan this year: Earlier in Q2, cybersecurity company Carbon Black announced that it had entered into a patent license and settlement agreement with Finjan for $3.9M. In late February, Finjan signed a deal with Symantec for up to $110M.
July 6, 2018
Apple’s Siri in the Crosshairs of Publicly Traded Advanced Voice Recognition Systems’s First Suit
In its most recent 10-Q, filed for the quarter ending on March 31, publicly traded Advanced Voice Recognition Systems, Inc. (AVRS) recounts its history, from the 1994 incorporation of its predecessor NCC, Inc. in Ohio, through its current “operations”, which “are related to patent monetization and the filing of additional patents”. In August 2015, AVRS entered into a “strategic advisory services” agreement with Dominion Harbor Group, LLC under which Dominion Harbor would advance costs up to $10M; however, the parties agreed to terminate the agreement in June 2017. In November 2016, AVRS also entered into a contingency fee agreement with law firm Buether Joe & Carpenter, LLC. Under that agreement, as modified following the termination of the Dominion Harbor agreement, the law firm would “represent AVRS in connection with investigating and asserting claims to the AVRS patents including licensing and litigation activities”, with “[a]ny and all advanced costs…only becom[ing] liabilities if successful”. AVRS then disclosed that it was “in discussion with two potential litigation funding sources” and has now filed its first litigation, suing Apple (2:18-cv-02083) in the District of Arizona.
July 6, 2018
Sookbox Development Asserts Second Patent in First Litigation in over a Year
Sookbox Development LLC has taken aim at Kodi, filing separate suits against Fry’s Electronics (6:18-cv-00331) and Wal-Mart (6:18-cv-00330) over products sold with the open source media player software pre-installed. The complaints assert a single patent generally related to controlling the delivery of media content via multiple “participant control devices”, respectively naming the Sungale Cloud TV box allegedly sold by Fry’s and an Android TV Box allegedly sold under the QFX brand by Wal-Mart. These new cases are the first filed by Sookbox Development in this campaign in over a year.
July 6, 2018
Recent Flurry of Litigation, Licenses, and Acquisitions by Quarterhill Involve Patents Acquired from OpCos
Quarterhill Inc. opened July with a trio of new suits against AMD, one each filed by Aquila Innovations, Inc. (asserting former OKI patents); Collabo Innovations, Inc. (over a former Panasonic patent); and Polaris Innovations Limited (involving former Infineon patents). The new litigation closely follows Quarterhill’s announcement of two licensing deals—one with Brother, the other with Etron, apparently involving patents from Kodak and Infineon, respectively—and acquisitions of patents from MagnaChip and Panasonic.
July 5, 2018
HP Enterprise and Micro Focus Sued over Network Simulation Patents
Wapp Tech Corp. and Wapp Tech Limited Partnership (collectively, Wapp Tech) have filed separate complaints alleging infringement of multiple network simulation patents by HP Enterprise (HPE) (4:18-cv-00468) and Micro Focus (4:18-cv-00469) through the “provision of systems for testing an application for a mobile device including and not limited to the LoadRunner, Performance Center, StormRunner and Mobile Center software products”. The accused products originated with HPE but were acquired by Micro Focus as part of a September 2017 spin-off and merger. The plaintiffs plead that HPE, under the agreement governing the merger, can “obtain licenses and sub-licenses for the benefit of Micro Focus” during a two-year term running from September 2016.
July 5, 2018