Venus Locations LLC has filed four new lawsuits in its sole litigation campaign, asserting a single patent (6,442,485) generally related to translating GPS location data into map data against Actsoft (2:16-cv-00983), InTouch GPS (2:16-cv-00984), Omnitracs (2:16-cv-00985), and Teletrac (2:16-cv-00986). As in Venus’s first round of litigation, which targeted various companies including AT&T, LYFT, Microsoft, SOFTBANK (Sprint), T-Mobile, Trimble Navigation, and Verizon, the NPE’s latest complaints accuse the defendants of infringement through the provision of GPS, navigation, and fleet tracking services. In April 2016, Venus Locations took this campaign over from NovelPoint Tracking LLC, an NPE formed in Texas in January 2012 by Gautham (Gau) Bodepudi, Sanjay Pant, and Lillian Woung, the principals of patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC.

RPX reported an assignment, recorded in the first half of July and executed on June 27, of two computer security patents (5,434,562; 6,212,635) from NovelPoint Security LLC, an entity created by the principals of patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC, to Vortex Pathway LLC, a Texas entity created on June 21, 2016. Two months later, Vortex Pathway has now filed eight new complaints, asserting the ‘635 patent against Addonics Technologies (2:16-cv-00961), Chunghwa Telecom (2:16-cv-00956), Fortinet (2:16-cv-00952), Gemalto (2:16-cv-00953), Giesecke & Devrient (2:16-cv-00950), Goldkey (2:16-cv-00957), HID Global (2:16-cv-00954), and Yubico (2:16-cv-00955). Infringement allegations center on the defendants’ FIPS 140-2 standard compliant token security products: Addonics’s Cipher USB Token, Chunghwa’s HiKey PKI Token, Fortinet’s FortiToken 300, Gemalto’s Smart Guardian FIPS Crypto Module, G&D’s StarSign Crypto USB Token, Goldkey’s Security Token, HID’s ActivClient, and Yubico’s YubiKey.

Falkon Treasures LLC, a newly formed NPE based in Texas, has initiated a litigation campaign asserting a single patent (6,233,682) generally related to distributing musical products over the Internet. The entity accuses Adidas (2:16-cv-00653), Barnes & Noble (2:16-cv-00654), Burlington Coat Factory (2:16-cv-00655), GameStop (2:16-cv-00656), and Sun Capital Partners (Limited Stores) (2:16-cv-00657) of infringing the ‘682 patent through websites that offer online gift cards and distribute both electronic and tangible products. While these lawsuits are the first filed by Falkon Treasures, the ‘682 patent has also been involved in two previous litigation campaigns: one started by Batarga LLC in 2015 and another waged by Sharing Sound LLC beginning in 2010.

Over the past two months, four NPEs with apparent connections to patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC have collectively filed nearly 50 patent infringement suits against operating companies. This report provides an overview of each of those four NPEs’ campaigns, which canvass a broad spectrum of defendants in multiple market sectors. Active defendants in these campaigns range from networking companies (Allied Telesis, Sophos) to retailers (1-800-Flowers, Staples), from electronics companies (Hisense, TCL) to wireless carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile).

During the first half of April 2016, RPX saw eleven patent transfers to known NPEs recorded with the USPTO. One of those transactions involved a patent that has already been asserted in litigation against operating companies.

NovelPoint Tracking LLC’s (NPT’s) 2015 litigation to date targets 11 defendants, 7-Eleven, Chili’s, Hilton, Hyatt, International Coffee & Tea, KFC, MasterCard, Opentable, Starbucks, Starwood, and Uber. This is the entity’s first round of filing this year, although it has filed more than 50 suits since 2012. Each of NPT’s suits asserts a single patent that concerns transforming GPS data to match a navigation map (6,442,485). The entity acquired the patent in 2012, shortly before it began filing litigation. NPT has targeted automotive manufacturers as well as PCs and mobile devices, in previous suits. The new suits target companies with apps that use global positioning to provide the company’s locations, accusing those services of infringement.