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Headwater Research Sues the Major Wireless Carriers for a Third Time This Year
New Patent Litigation
On the heels of a $278.8M jury verdict in an earlier case against Samsung, Headwater Research LLC has filed another round of suits against AT&T (AT&T Mobility) (2:25-cv-00464), Deutsche Telekom (Sprint, T-Mobile) (2:25-cv-00462), and Verizon (Verizon Wireless) (2:25-cv-00463), all in the Eastern District of Texas as well. These May cases follow a trio of April ones—AT&T (AT&T Mobility) (2:25-cv-00428), Deutsche Telekom (Sprint, T-Mobile) (2:25-cv-00359), and Verizon (Verizon Wireless) (2:25-cv-00391)—that themselves followed a trio of February suits against the same three defendants.
May 3, 2025
Jury Returns Verdict for Headwater Research in Second Samsung Trial
Patent Litigation Feature
In January 2025, an Eastern District of Texas jury sided with Samsung in litigation from Headwater Research LLC, finding that the defendant had not infringed the tried claims from a single patent. Now, a trial in a second case between the same parties has ended with a verdict for the plaintiff: On April 25, a different jury returned a verdict that Samsung had infringed claims from two additional patents and had not shown them to be invalid, awarding $278.8M in damages. The trial came shortly after the court denied a Samsung motion challenging Headwater’s standing to sue, after rejecting a related standing defense in the earlier-tried suit as well.
April 28, 2025
Headwater Research Levels Up Litigation Against the Big Three Wireless Carriers
New Patent Litigation
Later in February, Headwater Research LLC added second Eastern District of Texas cases against AT&T (AT&T Mobility) (2:25-cv-00215) and Deutsche Telekom (Sprint, T-Mobile) (2:25-cv-00164) after filing a second suit earlier in the month against Verizon (Verizon Wireless) in the same district. The inventor-controlled plaintiff targets with five more patents a wide array of products, including cellular networks, servers, and services; eSIM provisioning and management components and systems; and eSIM-enabled devices ranging from smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems. 35 patents are now in suit in this campaign, the various defendants having filed 32 petitions for inter partes review (IPR) to date and litigation by Headwater Partners II LLC against all three defendants underway as well.
February 28, 2025
Verizon Wireless Tagged Again in Headwater’s Campaign, Where Standing Remains Contested
New Patent Litigation
Headwater Research LLC has filed a second Eastern District of Texas case against Verizon (Verizon Wireless) (2:25-cv-00156), adding five more patents to a litigation campaign that already had 30. The plaintiff targets a wide array of products, including its cellular networks, servers, and services; eSIM provisioning and management components and systems; and eSIM-enabled devices ranging from smartphones to vehicle infotainment systems. A first trial in this campaign went against Headwater last month, with a second, again against Samsung, now set for April 2025. The parties there continue to contest, among other things, Headwater’s standing, Samsung arguing that Qualcomm is the true owner of this portfolio.
February 8, 2025
East Texas Jury Sides with Samsung Against Headwater
Patent Litigation Feature
Last Friday, an Eastern District of Texas jury returned a verdict that Headwater Research LLC failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that Samsung infringed any of the four claims tried. Those claims are from a single patent, one of many asserted by Headwater against Samsung in multiple complaints filed since October 2022. Each of the US cases was filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Headwater having also sued Samsung before the Unified Patent Court (UPC).
January 20, 2025
“Headwater HAS Standing” but It Cannot Pursue Its Copying Claim
New Patent Litigation
Closing in on trial, Eastern District of Texas Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne has ruled on two motions in the earliest case filed by Headwater Research LLC against Samsung. The court has denied Samsung’s motion challenging Headwater’s standing based on obligations created by earlier employment agreements between two named inventors and Qualcomm. It has also ruled that Headwater and its counsel have “committed an egregious violation” of a discovery order in the case by failing to timely disclose to Samsung that certain source code exists (and where), source code relevant to Headwater’s copying claim in the case. The court has sanctioned Headwater by precluding the copying claim and shifting fees associated with bringing the sanctions motions. Meanwhile, Headwater has hit Samsung with yet another case (2:24-cv-00627), again in the Eastern District of Texas.
August 4, 2024
Qualcomm Employment Agreements Take Center Stage in First Headwater Research Case
In Case You Missed It
Last Thursday, Eastern District of Texas Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne heard arguments from plaintiff Headwater Research LLC and defendant Samsung concerning cross-motions for summary judgment regarding whether Headwater has standing to sue over the patents asserted in the case. Samsung contends that Qualcomm is at least a coowner of those asserted patents. The court also heard argument concerning Samsung’s motion to sanction Headwater for failure to preserve source code at the heart of the copying claims in the case. Jury selection is set for August 5, 2024 in this, the first suit in Headwater’s campaign, which has also seen complaints filed against wireless carriers AT&T (AT&T Mobility), Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), and Verizon (Verizon Wireless), as well as against Lenovo (Motorola Mobility).
June 30, 2024
Headwater Litigation Heats Up
New Patent Litigation
Headwater Research LLC filed its first of several cases against Samsung back in October 2022. Since Samsung filed an amended answer to plead three additional affirmative defenses (inequitable conduct and “infectious unenforceability”, lack of standing, and prosecution laches), disputes have been multiplying, including over more typical issues (e.g., amendment of infringement contentions, stay in light of inter partes review (IPR), propriety of certain expert opinions, etc.) but also over the release of US discovery for use in parallel proceedings in Germany, the production of clawed-back documents and any related waiver of privilege, the consideration of battery testing evidence, and—at the end of last week—a sealed request to sanction the plaintiff. Meanwhile, the Eastern District of Texas has handed down a claim construction order, and Headwater Research has filed yet another complaint against Samsung (2:24-cv-00228), bringing three more patents from the same large family into this fray.
April 6, 2024
Samsung Amends an Answer, Faces Yet Another Complaint, in Headwater Research Campaign
New Patent Litigation
After suing AT&T (AT&T Mobility), Deutsche Telekom (Sprint, T-Mobile), and Verizon (Verizon Wireless), as well as Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), Headwater Research LLC has returned to the first defendant in this campaign, hitting Samsung (2:23-cv-00641) with another complaint in the Eastern District of Texas. Four more mobile data management patents join the 14 from the same large family already in suit against Samsung, which just filed an amended answer in the first case in this campaign, pleading additional facts in support of its marking defense as well as adding three new affirmative defenses: inequitable conduct and “infectious unenforceability”; lack of standing; and prosecution laches.
December 29, 2023
“Anonymous Package” Contributes to Notice Allegations in Headwater Research’s Latest Pair of Complaints
New Patent Litigation
Through two concurrently filed Eastern District of Texas complaints, Headwater Research LLC has accused AT&T (AT&T Mobility) (2:23-cv-00397, 2:23-cv-00398) of infringing the same four mobile data management patents that it asserted against Verizon (Verizon Wireless) in late July and against Deutsche Telekom (Sprint, T-Mobile) in late August. All these cases have been filed in the same district, targeting the provision of “electronic devices, including mobile phones and tablets . . . as well as cellular networks, servers, and services”. A couple of days earlier, Headwater also filed suit against Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) (4:23-cv-04496) in the Northern District of California, adding two more patents from the same family of over 200 to those litigated in this growing campaign.
September 3, 2023