Last week, RPX raised the possibility of IP Edge LLC’s practices—specifically, the naming of Texas residents with seemingly no discernible connections to patent monetization as managers or managing members of most of its LLCs—sliding under the judicial microscope. On September 12, District of Delaware Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly ordered a handful of such individuals to appear, in person, at evidentiary hearings to determine whether a group of apparent IP Edge plaintiffs has complied with his standing order regarding the disclosure of any third-party litigation funding. A similar order has been issued in multiple cases associated with Dynamic IP Deals, LLC (d/b/a DynaIP), Judge Connolly setting an October hearing to determine the accuracy of those plaintiffs’ amended corporate disclosure statements. Perhaps unsurprisingly, voluntary dismissals have been noticed across these cases, ending the court’s jurisdiction over the matters.

Evidence of IP Edge LLC’s frequent practice of naming individuals—seemingly with no discernible connections to patent monetization—as managers or managing members of its various LLCs has long been reported by RPX. Now, with Amazon having recently brought that practice to the attention of Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly, and with a raft of amended disclosures filed on the same day last week by a handful of apparent IP Edge plaintiffs litigating before that same judge, the coming months may see the full extent of that setup, and its bearing on standing, come to light.

For several years running, IP Edge LLC has been responsible for the most defendants added to NPE litigation campaigns throughout each calendar year. 2019 was no different. Last year saw roughly 400 defendants added to campaigns launched by plaintiffs associated with the Texas monetization firm, the campaigns spanning a wide range of technologies and now involving suits filed (and typically litigated in file-and-settle fashion) in myriad districts. A quick glance at the NPE’s January filings suggests that 2020 will see more of the same, while a recent Alice ruling may have just ended one of IP Edge’s 2019 campaigns.

As Sapphire Crossing LLC adds to its litigation campaign a case against SAP (Concur) (1:19-cv-01442) in the Northern District of Illinois and two other cases, one each against Kellogg (1:19-cv-00415) and WageWorks (1:19-cv-00416) in the District of Delaware, existing defendants in the latter forum have established a pattern. HealthEquity, Intuit, Quotient, WEX Health, Visa, and Xero have all answered Sapphire Crossing’s complaint but have also filed concurrent motions to dismiss, which challenge the few claims of the patent-in-suit left standing after an earlier inter partes review (IPR) under Alice. The motions are nearly identical, identifying the putative abstract idea to which the image transfer patent is patent-ineligibly directed as “data recognition and transfer”. If recent past is precedent, those suits will likely reach a resolution before the court addresses any of the motions filed.

Roughly one month after filing cases against Groupon, Ibotta, and Quotient, Sapphire Crossing LLC, an affiliate of IP Edge LLC, has also added Intuit (1:18-cv-01856) to its file-and-dismiss campaign over a single image transfer patent. Infringement allegations in the NPE’s earlier complaints focused on mobile banking apps providing mobile check deposit features for financial institutions. In this latest round of suits, Sapphire Crossing focuses on mobile app features that allow the capture and upload of store receipt images, here within the QuickBooks Accounting mobile app.

Sapphire Crossing LLC, an affiliate of IP Edge LLC, has filed another wave of lawsuits in its file-and-dismiss campaign over a single image transfer patent. The latest defendants are Ibotta (1:18-cv-01716) and Quotient (1:18-cv-01717) in the District of Delaware and Groupon (1:18-cv-07277) in the Northern District of Illinois. Most earlier defendants were financial institutions, tagged over the provision of mobile banking apps offering mobile check deposit features; here, Sapphire Crossing focuses on mobile app features that allow the capture and upload of store receipt images.

While Anuwave LLC pivots away from mobile banking, the campaign focus of its fellow IP Edge LLC affiliate has stayed squarely on it. New Texas entity Sapphire Crossing LLC has taken over the litigation campaign of Ruby Sands LLC, suing Citizens Financial Group (1:18-cv-00513) and Great Western Bancorp (1:18-cv-00514) in the District of Delaware and Investors Bancorp (2:18-cv-05527), Lakeland Bancorp (2:18-cv-05528), and Valley National Bancorp (2:18-cv-05529) in the District of New Jersey. The sole patent-in-suit generally relates to image transfer, with IP Edge, through both affiliates, accusing the defendants throughout the campaign of infringement through the provision of mobile banking apps offering mobile check deposit features.