Following a June dismissal in its prior case, against Grande Communications, Multimedia Content Management LLC has filed a new lawsuit, against DISH Network (6:18-cv-00207), over patents that the NPE received in October 2017 from Catonian IP Management, LLC, an affiliate of monetization firm IP Valuation Partners LLC (IPVal). Catonian IP asserted the same two patents last year against the subscription and pay-per-view services of cable providers Altice (Cequel Communications) and Charter Communications (Time Warner Cable). The patents generally relate to regulating access to distributed content on a network, with infringement allegations against DISH likewise trained on “TV and video-on-demand (‘VOD’) products and services, including network-related services that involve a data center and media devices, such as, but not limited to, the Hopper 3 DVR with Joey receivers”.

RPX noted among the assignment records released during the third week of October patent transfers to two affiliates of IP Valuation Partners LLC (d/b/a IPVal)—one that launched a litigation campaign during the first half of this month, and one that may be poised to take over an IPVal campaign begun earlier this year. Also of note is an assignment to a new NPE managed by Bradley D. Liddle and a security agreement between Brian Yates and an investment manager.

During May 2017, RPX completed four deals on behalf of its patent risk management network, obtaining rights to the patents involved either to end litigation against its members or to prevent it in the first place. May acquisitions occurred within the following market sectors: E-Commerce and Software, Mobile Communications and Devices, Media Content and Distribution, and Consumer Electronics and PCs.

NPEs affiliated with IP Valuation Partners LLC (IPVal) have filed the patent monetization firm’s fourth and fifth new litigation campaigns of 2017. Catonian IP Management, LLC has asserted two patents (8,799,468; 9,465,925), generally related to regulating access to a “service provider network”, against the subscription and pay-per-view services of cable providers Altice (Cequel Communications) (2:17-cv-00190) and Charter Communications (Time Warner Cable) (2:17-cv-00191). Two days earlier, IPVal affiliate FigureFun LLC filed a case (2:17-cv-00182) against LEGO Systems and Warner Bros International Television, asserting two patents (7,001,276; 7,338,377) generally related to a gaming server and a gaming token with a built-in chip, respectively. The accused product in FigureFun’s suit is the Lego Dimensions toy set, which contains a base that includes an RFID chip.

RPX took note of eleven patent transfers to NPEs recorded during the first half of November 2016. Assignees included entities controlled by Wi-LAN, Inc.; Marathon Patent Holdings, LLC; or IP Valuation Partners LLC; NPEs apparently affiliated with Intellectual Ventures LLC or Equitable IP Corporation; and entities managed by Erik Stamell, Leigh M. Rothschild, or Nicolas J. Labbit. Also this month, BlackBird Tech LLC, which has waged 11 litigation campaigns to date, acquired a patent that was asserted against 70 companies in a large NPE campaign that closed earlier this year.