Monetization firm IP Edge LLC, through associated entity Aristors Licensing LLC, has filed suit against BlackBerry (1:19-cv-01583), Everbridge (1:19-cv-01584), and United Technologies (1:19-cv-01585) in the District of Delaware; against Singlewire Software (3:19-cv-00695) in the Western District of Wisconsin; and against Status Solutions (1:19-cv-00722) in the Southern District of Ohio, all as part of a new litigation campaign over a family of patents generally related to sending sensor data to emergency responders and “emergency alert groups” on a mobile device. Targeted are the defendants’ crisis communication systems; for example, BlackBerry’s AtHoc system.

Prolific patent monetization firm IP Edge LLC shows no signs of slowing down in the New Year, with affiliated NPEs filing another round of cases in the first week of January. Ruby Sands LLC has added new lawsuits to its troubled mobile banking campaign, while Packet Tread LLC and Cypaleo LLC have continued to expand their respective communications campaigns. These latest cases follow a surge of filings by other IP Edge affiliates in the final months of 2016.

IP Edge LLC affiliate MagnaCross LLC has filed a fresh round of lawsuits, capping off a wave of year-end litigation by other NPEs also controlled by the prolific monetization firm. The latest MagnaCross complaints target Avaya (2:16-cv-01461), Comtrend (2:16-cv-01462), EnGenius (2:16-cv-01463), Huawei (2:16-cv-01464), Juniper Networks (2:16-cv-01465), Siemens (2:16-cv-01466), and Sierra Wireless (2:16-cv-01467), accusing the companies of infringing a single patent (6,917,304) generally related to wireless data transmission through the provision of wireless access points or routers.

Mozly Tech LLC, an apparent affiliate of IP Edge LLC, has filed six new cases in its sole litigation campaign in the wake of multiple dismissals. The NPE’s latest complaints target BMC Software (2:16-cv-01251), Citrix (2:16-cv-01252), Hitachi (2:16-cv-01253), iContact (2:16-cv-01254), NEC (2:16-cv-01255), and Quickbase (2:16-cv-01256) alleging that each defendant’s customer relationship management (CRM) software infringes a single patent (7,367,044) generally related to managing account permissions over a network of secure servers.

In July 2016, the last of the 20 cases brought by Venadium LLC roughly one year earlier was dismissed with prejudice. Six weeks later, the NPE has rebooted its sole litigation campaign by filing five new lawsuits, one each against BuzzFeed (5:16-cv-00118), J.D. Power and Associates (5:16-cv-00119), LivingSocial (5:16-cv-00120), Spotify (5:16-cv-00121), and The Washington Post (5:16-cv-00122). A single, former Xerox patent (6,330,549) generally related to limiting software to authorized use is asserted. Perhaps in light of the shaky infringement allegations in Venadium’s first wave of suits, which targeted Bluetooth-enabled devices, these new complaints allege that the defendants’ websites infringe at least claim 1 of the ‘549 patent through their use of cryptographic protocols (e.g. RSA, Diffie-Hellman, and HMAC) during the login process.

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.

Avaya (2:16-cv-00945), Grandstream Networks (2:16-cv-00946), Polycom (2:16-cv-00948), and Snom (2:16-cv-00949) are the latest companies to be sued in Cypaleo LLC’s sole litigation campaign. The NPE asserts a single, former Xerox patent (5,638,427) generally related to a networked device for monitoring a machine, the device having multiple communication interfaces. These new complaints bring the number of defendants in the campaign over 25; while past infringement allegations focused on smartphones, tablets, and gaming laptops, Bluetooth-enabled phones with USB ports (e.g. Avaya’s 1140E IP Desk Phone, Grandstream’s GXV3275, Polycom’s VVX600, and Snom’s 760 Desk Telephone) are now at issue.

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).

On the heels of dismissal in the last remaining cases that it filed in June 2015, BSG Tech LLC has added five new suits, bringing the number of defendants in its sole litigation campaign to over 50. The new complaints, like the NPE’s previous filings, target the e-commerce websites of defendants 1-800-Flowers.com (Harry and David) (2:16-cv-00531), Autozone.com (2:16-cv-00529), Liberty Interactive (BuySeasons) (2:16-cv-00530), Rakuten (2:16-cv-00532), and Staples (2:16-cv-00533). In state records, BSG Tech has identified as its member Yun Sun Chong, an individual with connections to multiple other Texas NPEs.

New NPE Guyzar LLC has filed suit against 20 defendants on the same day, asserting a single patent (5,845,070), which generally relates to using a separate certification server to authenticate a first server without revealing confidential information, against companies using the OAuth protocol to offer the ability to log in using an account from another service. Defendants range from news outlets (LATimes.com, The Washington Post) to entertainment companies (Buzzfeed, ESPN, Television Food Network) to e-commerce platforms (TripAdvsor, Kayak.com). This litigation campaign is the NPE’s first and only one to date, but the ‘070 patent has passed through the hands of some very active players prior to Guyzar’s acquisition: it was previously owned by a company tied to both Monument Patent Holdings LLC and Guy Fielder, founder of PACid Group, LLC and numerous related licensing entities.