PanOptis Patent Management, LLC; Optis Cellular Technology, LLC; Unwired Planet, LLC; and Unwired Planet International Limited (collectively, PanOptis) have sued Ford (2:22-cv-00133) in the Eastern District of Texas, asserting a group of former Ericsson or Panasonic patents and targeting connected vehicles alleged to communicate according to the 4G/LTE cellular network standard. PanOptis appears to be the latest to join a line of Avanci, LLC licensors taking aim at Ford.

Fineur International S.A. subsidiaries Sisvel International S.A. (d/b/a Sisvel Group), Sisvel S.p.A., and 3G Licensing S.A. (collectively, Sisvel) have added a Delaware case against Ford (1:21-cv-01745) to the networking litigation that began as separate campaigns that have morphed into one since June 2019. Sisvel asserts five of the 21 patents-in-campaign in the new complaint against Ford, three developed by Nokia and one each by BlackBerry and LG Electronics (LGE), all of them generally directed to various aspects of wireless communications. The plaintiff alleges that the patents are essential to either 3G or 4G cellular standards, with infringement allegations targeting the provision of compliant automobile services, including SYNC Connect, FordPass SmartLink, and FordPass Connect.

NPE litigation in the Automotive market sector during the first four months of 2020 was up nearly threefold from the same time period last year. Most recently, 21ST CENTURY GARAGE LLC and Sisvel International S.A. (d/b/a Sisvel Group) have taken aim at companies operating in the sector, but the year so far has seen new campaigns launched by plaintiffs ranging from relatively recent entrants to patent monetization (e.g., Quartz Auto Technologies, LLC) to established players (e.g., Conversant Wireless Licensing, S.à.r.l.), as well as additional cases filed in existing campaigns waged by inventor-controlled Omega Patents, L.L.C. and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild. From wireless connectivity to more traditional automotive technologies, something about 2020 has drawn more litigation to the sector.