Texas NPE KT Imaging USA, LLC has filed another round of cases in its litigation over a set of patents—now apparently grown from six to seven—received from Taiwanese distributor KINGPAK Technology (f/k/a International Branding Marketing). The new suits hit Alphabet (Google) (6:21-cv-01000), Apple (6:21-cv-01002), Dell (6:21-cv-01003), and Microsoft (6:21-cv-01004) over their respective provision of various devices (including laptops, smartphones, tablets, peripheral cameras, and videoconferencing monitors) that incorporate certain image sensors. These defendants join ASUSTek—the only defendant from prior rounds still in active litigation with KT Imaging—in the Western District of Texas.

As its first round of cases draws to a close, KT Imaging USA, LLC has filed a second round, suing Acer (6:20-cv-00299) and ASUSTek (6:20-cv-00300) in the Western District of Texas and Hon Hai Precision Industry (Dynabook) (4:20-cv-00333), HP (4:20-cv-00337), LG Electronics (LGE) (4:20-cv-00338), and Samsung (4:20-cv-00339) in the Eastern District of Texas. Each of the defendants is accused of infringing up to six patents—which KT Imaging received from KINGPAK Technology (f/k/a International Branding Marketing), a Taiwanese distributor of semiconductor products, including CMOS image sensors—through the provision of mobile devices that incorporate certain image sensors. Cases against prior defendants Kyocera and Panasonic were dismissed with prejudice after earlier documents indicating imminent settlements, while KT Imaging has moved for entry of a default judgment against Lightcomm Technology.

KT Imaging USA, LLC has now asserted in litigation three of the four patents that it received last December from Kingpak Technology (f/k/a International Branding Marketing), a Taiwanese distributor of semiconductor products, including CMOS image sensors. The Texas NPE filed multiple suits in the Eastern District of Texas on July 3, accusing Kyocera (4:19-cv-00488), Lightcomm Technology (4:19-cv-00486), and Panasonic (4:19-cv-00485) of infringing those three patents, which are generally related to image sensors, through the provision of certain phones and tablets that incorporate the accused image sensing technology, including Duraforce smartphones, Digiland tablets, and the Toughpad FZ-G1 tablet, respectively.

After nearly two years of litigation, SteelSeries has won a judgment of non-infringement in a case brought by Better Mouse Company, LLC (2:14-cv-00198). The Texas-based NPE had accused the Danish gaming hardware manufacturer of infringing a single patent (7,532,200) generally related to a computer mouse with a switch that changes the mouse’s sensitivity/resolution. However, while SteelSeries was also able to obtain an award of costs, it did not manage to convince a Texas jury that the ‘200 patent was invalid as anticipated by prior art. Rather, the jury did not reach the invalidity issue at all, handing down a verdict only on the issue of infringement.