RPX completed a number of deals in July 2020 on behalf of its patent risk management network. The acquisitions occurred within the following market sectors: Mobile Communications and Devices; and Networking.

As the last of its 2019 cases comes to a close, Magnacharge LLC, a plaintiff associated with Equitable IP Corporation, has filed its first round of 2020 suits, targeting Huawei (4:20-cv-00236), as well as retailers AT&T (4:20-cv-00234), Best Buy (4:20-cv-00235), IKEA (4:20-cv-00237), Kohl’s (4:20-cv-00238), and Target (4:20-cv-00239), all in the Eastern District of Texas. The single asserted patent generally relates to a “non-contact” charging device, with the defendants accused of infringement through the provision of devices (e.g., earphones, lighting products, smartphones, speakers, tablets, etc.) and chargers that either utilize or incorporate the Qi standard. Among the accused devices are various Apple devices, including AirPods and iPhones.

Another NPE associated with Equitable IP Corporation has been brought out of a tax forfeiture just before filing new lawsuits. In mid-August, Post Media Systems LLC rebooted its litigation campaign with cases against Alphabet (Google), Apple, and Pandora; now Magnacharge LLC has filed suit against T-Mobile (1:19-cv-01565) and Telephone and Data Systems (US Cellular) (1:19-cv-01566) a week or so after John T. Meli, Jr., Equitable IP’s founder, brought the entity’s Texas registration current. The sole patent-in-suit generally relates to a “non-contact” charging device, with infringement allegations targeting wireless mobile device chargers that utilize the Qi standard. Magnacharge accuses the wireless carriers of infringement through the provision of “non-contact type battery pack chargers” and mobile devices “configured to be chargeable by non-contact charging means according to the Qi Standard”, calling out various smartphones provided by Alphabet (Google), Apple, or LG Electronics (LGE).

As the first round of suits in its sole litigation campaign winds down, Magnacharge LLC has filed a second, suing Panasonic (1:19-cv-00700), Philips (1:19-cv-00701), and Samsung (1:19-cv-00702), all in Delaware. The patent asserted generally relates to a “non-contact” charging device, with infringement allegations targeting wireless mobile device chargers that utilize the Qi standard, developed by the Wireless Power Consortium to govern the use of induction to transfer power wirelessly over short distances. Magnacharge’s new complaints call out Panasonic’s QE-TS101W Qi Mobile Wireless Charging Pad, DLP 9035/37 Qi Wireless Charger, and “Samsung Wireless Charger Pad Slim”. The plaintiff has disclosed Equitable IP Corporation as its corporate parent.

Magnacharge LLC, an affiliate of Equitable IP Corporation, has launched a litigation campaign more than two years after receiving the patent asserted from its named inventors. The NPE accuses Anker Innovations (1:18-cv-01601), Belkin (1:18-cv-01602), LG Electronics (LGE) (1:18-cv-01603), and Sony (1:18-cv-01604) of infringement through the provision of wireless mobile device chargers that utilize the Qi standard, developed by the Wireless Power Consortium to govern the use of induction to transfer power wirelessly over short distances. The patent-in-suit broadly concerns a “non-contact” charging device. Magnacharge’s filings appear to mark only the second campaign of 2018 for Equitable IP and follows closure in three of the NPE’s earlier efforts, one in each of July, August, and October.