RPX took note of seven patent transfers to NPEs recorded during the first half of September 2016. Assignees included Mobile Synergy Solutions, LLC (which has ties to Monument Patent Holdings, LLC and Dominion Harbor Group, LLC); Silkeen LLC (a newly formed NPE apparently connected to IP Edge LLC); and Blackbird Tech LLC. NPEs controlled by Monument Patent Holdings or IP Edge have collectively filed over 280 patent infringement cases so far this year, and Blackbird Tech, which has waged 11 litigation campaigns to date, has filed 30 cases in 2016.

A new Texas NPE called Reef Mountain LLC has picked up the assertion of yet another patent (8,239,481) that Olivistar LLC, an entity managed by patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC, has litigated against many defendants in the past. The new complaints target Aviglion (5:16-cv-00132), Edimax Computer (5:16-cv-00133), Flir Systems (5:16-cv-00134), Swann Communications (5:16-cv-00135), TP-Link (5:16-cv-00136), TRENDnet (5:16-cv-00137), Ubiquiti Networks (5:16-cv-00138), and Vivotek (5:16-cv-00139). The ‘481 patent generally relates to the remote control of devices, and the accused devices are networked cameras. Olivistar has now offloaded five of the six patents that it appears to have owned to four new, apparent IP Edge entities, three of which have launched litigation.

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.

Two newly formed Texas NPEs—Autumn Cloud LLC and Banertek LLC—have launched litigation campaigns on the same day. Each NPE has asserted patents transferred to it from Olivistar LLC, itself an NPE, managed by the three principals of patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC, which has previously litigated the patents in its own name. These latest patent transfers to recently formed entities, followed by new litigation of the same patents under a plaintiff with a new name, appears to be a developing pattern for entities affiliated with IP Edge.

Texas NPE Dynavair LLC has launched litigation for the first time, asserting a single patent (6,271,645) against a dozen defendants, including AMS, Atmel, Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions, Eaton, Intersil, Linear Technology, Microchip Technology, NXP Semiconductors (Freescale), OKW Electronics, Samsung, SII Semiconductor, and TI. The ‘645 patent generally relates to balancing energy levels between batteries within a pack. The complaints target the defendants’ cell balancing circuit products, particularly (although not exclusively) for implementation among multiple Li-ion batteries.

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).

Olivistar LLC filed a wave of suits this week, hitting a group of 20 financial services companies, both large and small. Defendants include Ally Financial, American Bank of Texas, BBVA Compass Bancshares, Bank of America, BOK Financial, Capital One, Citicorp, City Bank, First United Bank and Trust Company, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, LegacyTexas Bank, PNC Financial Services, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo. The complaints assert two patents related to selectively archiving data from a device (7,606,843, 8,239,347) and accuse defendants’ online and mobile check depositing systems of infringement.

Olivistar, LLC’s recent suit against Facebook appears to be the start of a new campaign for the entity. The suit asserts two patents that Olivistar has not used in previous suits and that are unrelated to those previously asserted. The patents are part of a single family, and they relate to selectively archiving data from a device (7,606,843, 8,239,347). Facebook’s mobile app and its servers are accused of infringing the asserted patents. Olivistar acquired the patents-in-suit from Vigilos, an IPNav entity, in March 2014. RPX saw the ‘843 patent in an open market opportunity from November 2009 (Vigilos). Austin Hansley continues to represent Olivistar in its litigation.

NPE Olivistar LLC has filed six suits, one each against makers of fitness monitoring devices, including Aliph (Jawbone) (2:14-cv-00534), Fitbit (2:14-cv-00539), Garmin (2:14-cv-00540), Nautilus (2:14-cv-00537), Nike (2:14-cv-00541), Oregon Scientific (2:14-cv-00542), and Polar Electro (2:14-cv-00543). Defendants are accused of infringing a patent generally related to a monitoring a device using self-learning rules (7,944,469). Olivistar’s complaints accuse defendants’ wrist bands that wirelessly monitor personal data including movement, caloric intake, and sleep patterns. The asserted patent originated with former operating company, Vigilos, Inc., and was assigned in 2010 to an unrelated entity, Vigilos, LLC, which is affiliated with IP Navigation Group, LLC (d/b/a IPNav). These suits appear to be the first time that the ‘469 patent has been litigated; the majority of Olivistar’s recent cases assert two other former-Vigilos patents that relate to network-based remote device control. 4/24, Texas Eastern District Court,