LedComm LLC, an NPE associated with monetization firm IPValuation Partners, LLC, continues to expand the number of retailers named as defendants in its litigation campaign asserting overlapping subsets of eight former Sharp Electronics patents. The most recent complaint, filed again in the Western District of Texas, hits Best Buy (6:22-cv-00841) over the sale of various LED lighting products, Best Buy joining active defendants Ace Hardware, Stichting Ingka Foundation (IKEA), Target, and Walgreens, each sued there earlier this year. One of those defendants has moved to transfer the case to the district where its base of operations is located, arguing that it, “[m]uch like other major retailers . . . is simply caught in the middle of a recent trend of plaintiffs like Ledcomm bringing suit against big-box retailers where venue may not otherwise be available for the actual component suppliers”.

April cases against Ace Hardware (6:22-cv-00419) and Walgreens (6:22-cv-00420) join March suits filed against Stichting Ingka Foundation (IKEA) (6:22-cv-00302) and Target (6:22-cv-00301) in the LED lighting campaign that LedComm LLC began roughly two years ago. The IPValuation Partners LLC (d/b/a IPVal) plaintiff has asserted eight former Sharp Electronics patents, in overlapping subsets, across the defendants in this litigation, which has previously hit additional retailers (e.g., Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart) as well as manufacturers (e.g., Anker Innovations (Fantasia Trading), Sengled, Westinghouse).

USPTO assignment records recently made public contain a transfer of more than 34 issued US patents from IDEAL Industries Lighting, a subsidiary of IDEAL Industries, to Brightplus Ventures LLC, an entity with ties to a Texas monetization firm. The portfolio largely concerns LED lighting, an area that has seen more than its fair share of patent litigation in recent years.

That portfolio of US patents that RPX recently identified as having been assigned in October 2019 by Sharp Electronics, now a Hon Hai subsidiary, to LedComm LLC are on the move again. Three of them, generally related to making LEDs (light emitting diodes), have been asserted in litigation by LedComm, an entity associated with monetization firm IPValuation Partners, LLC (d/b/a IPVal), against Anker Innovations (Fantasia Trading) (5:20-cv-00421), Sengled (1:20-cv-00956), and TP-Link Technologies (8:20-cv-00424). LedComm assigned nine others to Heavy Duty Lighting LLC, a new Texas entity associated with a prominent plaintiff-side law firm in the state.

Terrestrial Comms LLC, an entity associated with Texas monetization firm IPValuation Partners, LLC (d/b/a IPVal), has launched a second litigation campaign from a portfolio of wireless communications and mobile devices patents received from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) in December 2018. The NPE has asserted subsets of six of those patents against ACCO Brands (6:20-cv-00097), Best Buy (6:20-cv-00106), NEC (6:20-cv-00096), and Perixx Computer (6:20-cv-00105) in complaints filed last week in the Western District of Texas. The accused products include wireless keyboard and mouse combination products provided by ACCO, Best Buy, and Perixx; NEC’s MultiPresenter Stick; and NEC’s SL1100 telephone systems.