Targeted Radio LLC has filed suit against Qurate Retail Group (f/k/a Liberty Interactive) (Pandora Media) (3:19-cv-02299), kicking off what appears to be the first new litigation campaign of its parent company Acacia Research Corporation in over four years. The plaintiff—as their exclusive licensee—asserts two patents that broadly pertain to providing advertisements on an “Internet radio” based on a mobile device’s location data, with infringement allegations focused on the provision of targeted advertisements provided to users while using the Pandora Radio service. In the wake of a leadership shakeup, Acacia appears poised for a return to its prior level of assertion activities, including in federal district court.

As reported repeatedly by RPX over the past year, Acacia Research Corporation’s litigation efforts are picking back up following a comprehensive leadership change triggered by activist investors in 2018. While Acacia’s freshly reconstituted board is reportedly working to “advance” the company’s IP business (including through augmenting Acacia’s IP portfolio through “acquisitions and partnerships”), USPTO records suggest that the NPE already has at least one new litigation campaign in the pipeline, perhaps involving patents originating with Fairchild Semiconductor or Micron. Meanwhile, this week saw Acacia—via a newly created subsidiary, Targeted Radio LLC—kick off its first new US campaign in four years with a suit against Pandora Media. The new suit against Pandora joins a number of recently filed cases in already existing Acacia campaigns, including one initiated over ten years ago.