Following a revival of its sole litigation campaign with a suit against Samsung in February 2024, Electronic Edison Transmission Technologies, LLC—an entity associated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild—has now sued Alphabet (Google) (2:24-cv-00335) in the Eastern District of Texas. Google is accused of infringing a single patent generally related to wirelessly transferring power from a “donor mobile device” to a “receptor mobile device” through the provision of various Pixel-series smartphones (e.g., the Pixel 5, Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and Pixel 8). At issue is the Battery Share feature, which allows for reverse-charging other devices using the Qi wireless charging standard.

Following the dismissal of its last active case in June 2020, Electronic Edison Transmission Technologies, LLC—an entity associated with prolific inventor and frequent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild—has revived its sole litigation campaign with a suit against Samsung (2:24-cv-00105) in the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff asserts three patents, two of which are newly asserted in litigation, generally related to power transmission between devices. Samsung is accused of infringement through the provision of devices (e.g., smartphones and smart watches) that support the Wireless PowerShare or Reverse Charging features, both of which are alleged to be compliant with the Qi wireless charging standard.

Throughout the last few years, prolific inventor and patent plaintiff Leigh M. Rothschild has consistently remained one of the top filers of NPE litigation. 2019 was no different. Last year saw over 160 defendants added to campaigns launched by plaintiffs associated with Rothschild, 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 plaintiff’s early 2020 filings suggest that this year will see more of the same.