Stoic Ventures LLC, an affiliate of IP Valuation Partners LLC (IPVal), has filed its first litigation, asserting a single wireless communications patent (9,356,763) against ZTE (2:17-cv-00032) and Le Technology, Inc. (2:17-cv-00062), a California-based subsidiary of Chinese company LeEco. Both defendants are accused of infringement through the provision of Android smartphones offering LTE connectivity.

eCeipt LLC, a Texas NPE affiliated with IP Valuation Partners LLC (IPVal), has resumed its retail receipt campaign, filing four new lawsuits against Ann (2:16-cv-01105), Best Buy (2:16-cv-01106), Caleres (2:16-cv-01111), and Recreational Equipment (2:16-cv-01112). These latest cases are eCeipt’s first new litigation since the August dismissal of its case against GNC Holdings (2:16-cv-00419), which followed the dismissal of all other suits in the campaign in January-March. The plaintiff’s newest complaints assert the same, single patent-in-campaign (8,643,875), which generally relates to point-of-sale (POS) kiosks that allow a customer to select a printed or emailed store receipt. Defendants are each accused of infringement through POS systems that offer both types of receipt.

At the halfway point in 2016, at least five NPEs affiliated with the principals of patent monetization firm IP Valuation Partners LLC (IPVal), Adam Baumli, Jason Bourgeois, and Jonathan Szarzynski, have launched litigation. A new campaign filed this past week by ePt Records, LLC joins campaigns started earlier in the year by Aurelian IP Management, LLC; eHierarchy LLC; PositionTech LLC; and Retrospection Marketing LLC. Having added new portfolio managers to its team and new LLCs to its stable of Texas entities, several of which have recently received patent rights, it looks as if this year IPVal may surpass its seven campaigns of 2015.