Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited
and its known 9 related entities (exclude related entities) |
Uniloc USA – Limited Software Licensing (8,566,960)
Uniloc USA – Software Licensing and Delivery Systems (6,324,578)
Uniloc USA – Unified Communications Systems (7,804,948)
Uniloc USA – Smartphone Messaging Apps (7,535,890)
Uniloc – Motion-Based Device Wakeup (8,872,646)
Uniloc – Mobile Devices Monitoring Human Activity (7,653,508)
Uniloc – Mobile Device Battery Charging (6,661,203)
Uniloc – Mobile Devices Used for Remote Display (6,580,422)
Uniloc – Devices Using Bluetooth 3.0 (7,020,106)
Uniloc – Devices Using Push Notifications (7,969,925)
Uniloc – Devices Supporting Bluetooth Low Energy (6,993,049)
Uniloc USA, Inc. (5,490,216)
Uniloc 2017 LLC (8,484,089)
75Active
110Petitions
About Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited
Litigations for Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited
Patent Information for Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited
Petitions for Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited
Continued Fortress-Uniloc Litigation Prompts Pushback Before the PTAB as Apple Wins Cancellation of Claims from Three Patents
The past few years have seen a steady stream of litigation over patents held by Australian NPE Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, a flow that has intensified since IP investment firm Fortress Investment Group LLC took over Uniloc's assertion efforts in May 2018. Since that acquisition, Fortress has aggressively litigated patents from that portfolio through its subsidiary Uniloc 2017 LLC, hitting a variety of defendants with an ongoing barrage of new complaints. As Uniloc 2017 continues to file litigation, defendants from those new campaigns as well as existing Uniloc campaigns asserting patents now held by Fortress have fought back by pursuing validity challenges before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Three of the Board's latest decisions were not in the NPE's favor: On June 17, the PTAB invalidated claims from three patents in inter partes reviews (IPRs) filed by frequent Uniloc defendant Apple, which last year accused the NPE of "serially filing meritless patent infringement cases against it". Those PTAB final decisions come as an earlier Uniloc campaign springs back to life, following a Federal Circuit decision that reversed the Alice invalidation of two of the NPE's patents.
Federal Circuit Revives Two Former IBM Patents, Now Owned by Fortress, from Alice Invalidation
The Federal Circuit has breathed new life into a campaign begun by Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited in April 2016—before the Australian NPE began ramping up its litigation activity in 2017, before it acquired the large portfolio of patents from Pendrell Corporation in early 2018, and before it transferred control over its patent assets to Fortress Investment Group LLC in May 2018. Throughout 2016 and 2017, Uniloc accused a wide range of defendants of infringing up to four patents, sourced from IBM, through their software licensing and delivery systems. Multiple decisions in the Eastern District of Texas, however, invalidated all four patents under Alice, stopping the campaign in its tracks. Now, in a May 24, 2019 nonprecedential opinion, the Federal Circuit has reversed the district court as to two of those patents while affirming the invalidity of the other two. The case has been remanded back to Texas for further proceedings in the underlying cases, filed against ADP, Big Fish Games, BitDefender, and Kaspersky Lab, but the decision could revive litigation dropped as to other defendants as well.
Standing Debate Continues as Fortress-Uniloc Deal Casts a Long Shadow over Lawsuits Against Apple
In October 2018, a battle over standing erupted in litigation between Apple and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited (Uniloc). Apple had moved to dismiss four of Uniloc's cases against it after learning of a complex set of agreements between the NPE and Fortress Investment Group LLC, arguing that Uniloc's purported "defaults" under those agreements had deprived Uniloc of standing by shifting sufficient rights in the asserted patents to Fortress. District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California denied that motion in January, holding in part that Fortress had shown through its conduct that Uniloc had cured any defaults that had occurred. Apple has now moved for reconsideration of that order, asserting that at least one of Uniloc's defaults could not have been excused under the evidence presented and that the purported "cure" was really an implied waiver, which would be barred under the relevant agreements—under which any waiver by Fortress must be in writing. Uniloc, meanwhile, has asked the court to roll back certain redactions in Apple's motion, arguing that only a narrower set of contractual terms between the NPE and Fortress needed to be withheld.
Standing Battle Escalates in Fortress-Uniloc Cases as Redactions Get Rolled Back, but Key Licensing Terms Remain Sealed
A contentious battle over standing has continued to develop in litigation between Apple and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited (Uniloc). Earlier this month, District Judge William Alsup of the Northern District of California rejected Apple's argument that Uniloc's purported "defaults" under a complex set of agreements with Fortress Investment Group LLC had deprived Uniloc of standing by shifting sufficient rights in the asserted patents to Fortress. Apple has now sought permission to move for reconsideration, asserting that Judge Alsup erred by adopting an argument not briefed by the parties and by finding that Uniloc had cured any defaults that had existed. Meanwhile, a related dispute over confidentiality has also heated up in the wake of Judge Alsup's mid-January order that Uniloc could not justify the broad withholding of details about its agreements with Fortress. Uniloc has now filed a motion for reconsideration of that decision, seeking a much more limited set of redactions—in the process, revealing new details about the evolving Uniloc-Fortress relationship.
Standing to Sue Flies Right Through Tangled Web of Uniloc-Fortress Agreements
District Judge William Alsup in the Northern District of California has ruled on a motion questioning whether Uniloc Luxembourg S.a.r.l. (f/k/a Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.) and Uniloc USA, Inc., subsidiaries of Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, had standing to sue at the time that they filed a raft of lawsuits against Apple in their original forum, the Eastern District of Texas. Judge Alsup ruled that the Uniloc plaintiffs did have standing, rejecting Apple's argument that a purported "default" under a set of December 2014 agreements between Uniloc and Fortress Investment Group LLC, as subsequently and repeatedly amended, had shifted sufficient rights to Fortress to destroy Uniloc's standing. Apple had also opposed a motion to add Uniloc 2017 LLC as a plaintiff, arguing that joining new patent owner Uniloc 2017 could not fix a lapse in standing caused by a May 2018 transfer of the Uniloc patent portfolio from Uniloc Luxembourg to Uniloc 2017. Judge Alsup ruled in the plaintiffs' favor, granting their motion to join Uniloc 2017.
EFF Asks to Intervene to Oppose Motions to Seal Clouding May 2018 Deal Between Fortress and Uniloc
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has asked District Judge William H. Alsup for permission to jump into the standing fight between Apple and subsidiaries of NPE Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited. Last year, Apple moved to dismiss multiple cases filed against it, arguing that after a May 2018 deal between Uniloc and Fortress Investment Group LLC, the plaintiffs lack standing to assert the patents-in-suit. The EFF, a self-described "donor-funded, non-profit civil liberties organization" with "more than 39,000 active members", has now moved to intervene in those cases (3:18-cv-00360, 3:18-cv-00363, 3:18-cv-00572, 3:18-cv-00365) for a limited purpose: to oppose motions to file under seal the agreements that apparently apportion rights in the large portfolio of patents that Uniloc transferred to Fortress last May, as well as large parts of the parties' briefs arguing about the legal consequences flowing from those agreements. EFF contends that those briefs' heavy redactions, supported only by "rote justifications" in declarations filed by counsel for Uniloc, rob the public of its common law and First Amendment rights of access.
November PTAB Activity Included IPRs Against Fortress as Standing Dispute over Uniloc Deal Escalates, with Apple Rejecting "Oxymoronic" Counterattack
In November 2018, Fortress Investment Group, LLC subsidiary Uniloc 2017 LLC was hit by a series of inter partes review (IPR) petitions filed by Apple as the two parties continue to brief a contentious dispute over standing in related district court litigation. November also saw the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) institute trial in IPRs involving Japanese patent monetization firm IP Bridge, Inc. and issue final decisions in IPRs against Quarterhill Inc. and Alacritech, Inc., the latter an operating company-turned-NPE formed by SCSI inventor Larry Boucher.
Fortress Deal Allegedly Running Portfolio Rights Through a "Wood-Chipper" Spawns Both a Standing Fight and a Wave of Refiling
In May 2018, Australian NPE Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited (Uniloc) assigned more than 600 US patent assets, as well as a number of foreign counterparts—seemingly the bulk of its portfolio—to Fortress Investment Group LLC subsidiary Uniloc 2017 LLC, leading to an avalanche of new litigation. This deal represented the deepening of an existing relationship between the two parties, as a December 2014 security agreement between Uniloc and Fortress indicates that the latter has been funding the former's litigation for years. That security agreement has now become the focus of a standing dispute in litigation filed by Uniloc prior to its May deal with Fortress. In an October motion to dismiss, defendant Apple has argued that by relinquishing certain licensing rights under the security agreement, and other related agreements, Uniloc's former patent-holding subsidiary Uniloc Luxembourg S.à r.l. (f/k/a Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.) and its purported successor-in-interest, Uniloc 2017, were deprived of constitutional standing. Uniloc has just fired back, arguing in a November 12 opposition that the rights transferred in the security agreement did not deprive Uniloc Luxembourg of standing under Federal Circuit law. Meanwhile, Fortress has apparently reconsidered the posture of the cases that it has been filing since the May deal with Uniloc, refiling late last week over 40 of those suits with only Uniloc 2017 as the named plaintiff against defendants that include Alphabet (Google), Apple, AT&T, Barnes & Noble, BlackBerry, Cardo Systems, Cisco, Disney (ABC, ESPN), Hulu, Huawei, LG Electronics, Samsung, Terrano, Verizon, and ZTE.
Throughout October, Fortress Hammers Both Familiar and New Defendants with Former Uniloc Patents
By the end of the first week of October, Fortress Investment Group LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited had filed four cases against Alphabet (Google) this year. Since then, the floodgates have remained steadily open, with the NPEs hitting Google ten more times over the subsequent weeks. In May, Uniloc, a prolific plaintiff on its own, transferred over 600 US patent assets to Fortress, including much of a large portfolio that Uniloc had acquired in January 2018 from Pendrell Corporation. While many of the new cases against Google assert one of those former Pendrell assets, homegrown Uniloc patents and patents acquired from separate sources are at issue in others of those ten cases—and Google is not alone. Three recent Fortress-Uniloc cases have brought the total number of cases filed against Apple since the beginning of 2017 north of 20; a new case against Samsung joins more than ten such others over that same time period; and in recent weeks, the NPEs have also tagged Disney (ABC, ESPN), Hulu, and Netflix with one case apiece.
Fortress-Uniloc Assertion of Former Pendrell Patents Continues Apace
The filing spree of Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited continues unabated after handing over the reins of its monetization efforts to Fortress Investment Group LLC earlier this year. Last week alone, plaintiffs related to these entities jointly filed a new suit against Apple in the Western District of Texas, one against Cisco, two against Hike, and four against Alphabet (Google), all in the Eastern District of Texas. Since its acquisition of a large portfolio from Pendrell Corporation subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC this past January, Uniloc has been filing new lawsuits on nearly a weekly basis over those patents, on its own, before its transfer of over 600 US patent assets to Fortress in May, and together with Fortress since. That shift in patent ownership came as Fortress announced a new, $400M IP fund focused on patent assertion.
September PTAB Activity Includes Validity Challenges in Wireless and Mobile Device Campaigns
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw activity in AIA reviews against a variety of familiar plaintiffs in September, including validity challenges brought in campaigns targeting wireless communications technology and mobile devices. Among the NPEs hit with petitions for inter partes review (IPR) in September were Intellectual Ventures LLC, which continues to pursue its existing litigation as it divests other parts of its portfolio; and entities controlled by Fortress Investment Group LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, both of which have kept up a barrage of new litigation asserting former Pendrell Corporation patents. Also in September, the PTAB instituted trial in IPRs against Quarterhill Inc. and an NPE related to PanOptis Equity Holdings LLC, and issued final decisions against private plaintiffs including General Patent Corporation.
Fortress and Uniloc Add New Patents in Recent Cases Against AT&T and Verizon
Fortress Investment Group LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited have added two additional patents to one of their existing litigation campaigns with new suits against AT&T (AT&T Mobility) (2:18-cv-00379) and Verizon (Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless) (2:18-cv-00380). The plaintiffs accuse AT&T of infringing a patent generally related to system control using a "wireless terminal" through the provision of the Smart Home Manager mobile app, as used to change settings for a home Wi-Fi network; Verizon, of infringing a patent broadly related to the delivery of data through "beacon devices" through the use of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) beacons in its retail stores, as used to send notifications to mobile devices running the Verizon app. The two complaints each assert additional patents already in suit in the campaign, all of them part of a large, January 2018 acquisition from Pendrell Corporation, with ownership moving to Fortress subsidiary Uniloc 2017 LLC this past May.
Public Records Point to a Fortress Takeover of Uniloc's Monetization Efforts
Last week, RPX reported that a subsidiary of Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited had transferred more than 600 US assets to Fortress Investment Group LLC in May—the same month that Fortress announced a new, $400M IP fund focused on patent assertion. The transacted portfolio, which includes foreign counterparts in Asia and Europe, comprises former Pendrell Corporation assets (including patents originating with the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), Philips, and IBM); homegrown Uniloc patents (naming CEO Craig Etchegoyen as inventor); and patents acquired from Ayalogic, Fullpower Technologies, HP Enterprise, and Paragon Solutions. Subsets of those patents have appeared in a recent barrage of new litigation against Amazon, BlackBerry, Huawei, Microsoft, Samsung, and ZTE (with some defendants hit with four or more lawsuits each), filed by subsidiaries of Fortress and Uniloc. Fortress's new ownership of the majority of Uniloc's former US patent portfolio, together with its role as coplaintiff in Uniloc's latest suits, indicates that Fortress—not Uniloc—is likely now in control.
More Suits Against Amazon and Microsoft Follow Transfer of Hundreds of Patents from Uniloc to Fortress
Yet more cases have been filed by Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited and Fortress Investment Group LLC, through controlled subsidiaries—six against Amazon (2:18-cv-00328, 2:18-cv-00329, 2:18-cv-00339, 2:18-cv-00340, 2:18-cv-00341, 2:18-cv-00342), and one against Microsoft (8:18-cv-01320). These filings follow a barrage of new cases filed the prior week against BlackBerry (four new cases), Huawei (one case), Samsung (one case), and ZTE (four cases), as well as against Amazon (four cases) and Microsoft (one case). Uniloc has now launched over 15 campaigns in 2018 alone, most of them asserting patents received this past January from publicly traded NPE Pendrell Corporation. In May 2018, Uniloc executed an assignment of nearly 600 US patents to Uniloc 2017 LLC, a Fortress subsidiary, according to a March 28, 2018 Asset Purchase Agreement, the terms of which have not been made public.
Uniloc Unloads Against Amazon, BlackBerry, Huawei, Microsoft, Samsung, and ZTE, as Apple Moves for Another Transfer out of Texas
Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, through controlled subsidiaries and at least in some instances with the apparent backing of Fortress Investment Group LLC, has continued to roll out new cases in 2018, hitting Amazon (with four additional cases), BlackBerry (four new cases), Huawei (one case), Microsoft (one case), Samsung (one case), and ZTE (four cases) just last week. One of the new suits against Amazon returns to Uniloc's earlier litigation strategy, asserting a patent naming Uniloc cofounder Craig Etchegoyen as inventor, but the other new suits continue the assertion of former Philips patents received this past January from publicly traded NPE Pendrell Corporation. Pendrell sold hundreds of patent assets from its "Pendragon" portfolio (held by subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC) to Uniloc in January—the patents deriving from multiple original sources, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) and IBM as well as Philips. Nearly all of the new complaints have been filed in Texas, confirming Uniloc's commitment to litigate in that state, if not solely in the Eastern District, after the US Supreme Court's TC Heartland decision in May 2017.
Uniloc Kicks Off a Tenth Campaign of 2018, Again Asserting a Patent Acquired from Pendrell
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed a new case against Box (3:18-cv-03432), asserting a patent generally related to replacing substrings in a file or directory pathname with tokens. At issue in the complaint is Box's "content management and file sharing software", including Business, Individual, and Enterprise editions. This campaign is the tenth that Uniloc has initiated this year, all asserting patents acquired from publicly traded NPE Pendrell Corporation, which sold hundreds of patent assets from its "Pendragon" portfolio (held by subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC) to Uniloc in January—the patents derive from multiple original sources, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), IBM, and Philips.
April 2018 Sees PTAB Begin to Apply SAS Institute and Issue Decisions in Notable Campaigns
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) had an eventful April, capped by two US Supreme Court decisions addressing inter partes review (IPR). While the Court found IPR constitutional in Oil States Energy Services, in its companion decision in SAS Institute, the Court also barred the PTAB's practice of instituting trial as to a subset of the challenged claims (partial institution decisions). As a result, since those April 24 opinions, the PTAB has begun to institute trial for all challenged claims for IPR petitions where the petitioner is likely to prevail as to at least one claim (and for all petitioned grounds, a practice not required by SAS Institute). Among the affected IPRs instituted in late April were two against Lone Star Silicon Innovations LLC, while the PTAB saw IPR petitions filed in April against Oyster Optics, LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited. The Board also issued final decisions throughout April in IPRs against ChriMar Systems, Inc.; Global Equity Management (SA) Pty. Ltd.; Papst Licensing GmbH & Company Kg; Skky, Inc.; and Uniloc.
Uniloc Launches Two More Campaigns, Targeting Software Update and Anti-Theft Measures in Apple Products
Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited's barrage of litigation against Apple continues unabated. Its subsidiaries Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed two new cases against the tech giant, one (1:18-cv-00293) asserting a patent generally related to blocking the normal operation of a "mobile radiotelephony device" under certain circumstances, and the other (1:18-cv-00296) to managing the reconfiguration of an electronic device. Uniloc acquired both patents from publicly traded NPE Pendrell Corporation, which sold hundreds of patent assets from its "Pendragon" portfolio (held by subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC) to Uniloc earlier this year. The transaction appears to be the divestiture that Pendrell described in a February SEC filing as comprising "patents related to cellular and digital wireless devices and infrastructure" from multiple sources, including Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), IBM, and Philips.
PTAB Sees Activity in Notable Campaigns During March 2018, Grants Motion to Amend for Realtime Data
In March 2018, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw petitions for inter partes review (IPR) filed in a variety of notable campaigns, including those waged by publicly traded Quarterhill Inc.; privately held XR Communications, LLC; and inventor Leigh M. Rothschild. The Board also instituted trial throughout March in campaigns brought by Oyster Optics, LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited. In addition, the PTAB granted in March a motion to amend in two IPRs against prolific plaintiff Realtime Data, LLC, also issuing final decisions involving patents asserted by Uniloc; Papst Licensing GmbH & Company Kg; Evolved Wireless LLC; Game and Technology Co., Ltd; and TQ Delta LLC.
Pendrell Assigns Hundreds of Patents to Uniloc
In late March, the USPTO made public five patent assignments from various Pendrell Corporation subsidiaries to Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. This transaction appears to be the one that Pendrell disclosed in a February SEC filing—a divestiture it described as comprising "patents related to cellular and digital wireless devices and infrastructure" from multiple sources, including Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), IBM, and Philips. Collectively, the transfers assigned over 445 assets to Uniloc, including patents now being asserted by the NPE in seven recently initiated litigation campaigns.
Uniloc Targets Alexa in Fifth 2018 Case Filed Against Amazon
So far this year, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have kicked off two of their seven new litigation campaigns by filing suit against Amazon, asserting patents recently acquired from Pendrell Corporation. Uniloc, however, has also added cases against Amazon to a couple of the many litigation campaigns that it began last year. The latest (2:18-cv-00123) is a case over a patent received from HP Enterprise, generally related to using a "palm-sized computer" to control a "service" on a network. Uniloc accuses Amazon of infringement through provision of its Alexa platform that allows, for example, certain smartphones and tablets to control other devices, including "Echo Dot, Echo Show, Echo, Tap, and video cameras".
Uniloc Files a Slew of Cases Against Amazon
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) continues its 2018 assertion of patents apparently acquired from Pendrell Corporation. The NPE has opened up two more litigation campaigns—its sixth and seventh so far this year—each with a new case against Amazon (2:18-cv-00080, 2:18-cv-00081) filed in the Eastern District of Texas. In the first, Uniloc asserts a single patent generally related to "borrowing" media files, targeting Amazon's Kindle e-readers and web service (and related servers). The Kindle platform, books, and app are the subject of the second lawsuit, over one patent as well, this one broadly concerning distributing "digital assets" across a network. A few days later Uniloc added Amazon to two campaigns (2:18-cv-00091, 2:18-cv-00092) that it began in 2017, each asserting a single patent acquired from HP Enterprise.
Uniloc Filing Pattern Continues: Apple, Samsung, LG Electronics, Huawei (and Others)
So far this year, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have initiated five new litigation campaigns, each with a suit against Apple, quickly adding Samsung to three of them; Logitech to one; LG Electronics to four; and now Huawei to the same four (2:18-cv-00072, 2:18-cv-00073, 2:18-cv-00074, 2:18-cv-00075). The patents asserted were apparently acquired from Pendrell Corporation subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC, and the accused products comprise a long list of smartphones, tablets, wireless speakers, and many other computing devices.
Uniloc Continues Filing New Cases Asserting Former Pendrell Patents
Last year, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) initiated 11 new litigation campaigns, all but one of them with a suit filed against Apple. In the subsequent months, Uniloc added LG Electronics (LGE) as a defendant in seven of those campaigns; Huawei in six of them; HTC, Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), and Samsung in four of them; and a few other companies in just one. 2018 appears to be shaping up similarly. Uniloc has so far opened up five new litigation campaigns this year, each with a suit against Apple, quickly adding Samsung to three of them; Logitech to one, and now, LGE to four (3:18-cv-00557, 3:18-cv-00559, 3:18-cv-00560, 3:18-cv-00561). The patents asserted were apparently acquired from Pendrell Corporation subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC, and the accused products form a long list of smartphones, tablets, wireless speakers, and many other computing devices.
Uniloc Hits Logitech in One of Its 2018 Campaigns
After filing multiple new cases in February, first against Apple, then Samsung, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) closed out the month with a suit against Logitech (5:18-cv-01304). The patent asserted, generally related to delivering data through "beacon devices", is one among several that Uniloc has apparently acquired from Pendrell Corporation subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC. In a 10-K recently filed with the SEC, Pendrell indicated that it had divested the "majority" of its "Pendragon portfolio", which contained "patents related to cellular and digital wireless devices and infrastructure" from multiple sources, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), IBM, and Philips. Logitech joins Apple as defendants in this campaign, with Uniloc's infringement allegations focused on devices that "utilize Bluetooth Low Energy version 4.0 and above".
Uniloc First Pelts Apple, Then Samsung, with Suits Alleging Infringement of Patents Apparently Acquired from Pendrell
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have started 2018 off much as they spent 2017—first suing Apple and then adding other defendants to the new campaigns. Uniloc has filed seven new complaints in the Western District of Texas, each accusing Apple (1:18-cv-00158, 1:18-cv-00159, 1:18-cv-00161, 1:18-cv-00163, 1:18-cv-00164, 1:18-cv-00165, 1:18-cv-00166) of infringing at least one patent that the plaintiff has apparently acquired from Pendrell Corporation subsidiary Pendragon Wireless LLC. As RPX noted last week, in a 10-K recently filed with the SEC, Pendrell indicated that it had divested the "majority" of its "Pendragon portfolio", which contained "patents related to cellular and digital wireless devices and infrastructure" from multiple sources, including the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), IBM, and Philips. The accused Apple devices, across the seven new complaints, include certain models of the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac, Watch, and iPod, as well as the Magic Keyboard, Mouse, and Trackpad; Apple TV (and Apple TV 4K); and Airpods. The day after Uniloc's filing flurry against Apple, the NPE filed four complaints against Samsung (2:18-cv-00039, 2:18-cv-00041, 2:18-cv-00042, 2:18-cv-00044), identifying long lists of similar phone, tablet, and other computing devices as the accused products.
PTAB Saw Continued Debate over Tribal Sovereign Immunity in December 2017
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) remained at the center of a heated public debate over the issue of tribal sovereign immunity in December 2017. Motions to dismiss filed by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in IPRs against several Allergan patents—acquired by the tribe and licensed back to their original owner to shield them through sovereign immunity—remain pending as the PTAB considers a wave of amicus briefs filed on both sides of the issue. The Board has since denied the tribe's motion for an oral hearing on discovery related to alleged bias held by the USPTO and its leadership, and that bias's effect on the selection of judges for the tribe's case. Meanwhile, among the petitions for inter partes review (IPR) filed in December was one brought by Apple against MEC Resources, LLC, an entity owned by another Native American tribe, which took over an existing lawsuit asserting the challenged patent against Apple in the fall. Also in December, the Board issued institution decisions in petitions against Iridescent Networks, Inc.; Lone Star Silicon Innovations LLC; and publicly traded Quarterhill Inc.; while an IPR against Packet Intelligence LLC ended in an adverse judgment after petitioner Sandvine prevailed in a November trial.
Uniloc Sues Logitech as Part of Its Wireless Remote Control Campaign
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have continued their string of consecutive weeks adding defendants to the dozen campaigns begun in 2017, last week adding Logitech (3:17-cv-06733) to their campaign asserting a patent broadly related to exercising remote control over a wireless network. Uniloc initiated this campaign by suing Apple in July, adding cases against LG Electronics, HTC, Huawei, Peel Technologies, Wink Labs, and Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), in that order. The campaign has targeted various devices (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches, home security products) used to control other devices wirelessly. At issue in the Logitech suit are Harmony remotes, with related apps.
Uniloc Files Its Sixth 2017 Suit Against Huawei, Its Fourth Against Motorola Mobility, and Its First Against Wink Labs
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) continue to grow the campaigns begun in 2017, of which there have been a dozen so far, even as USPTO assignment records suggest more litigation from the NPE may be coming. Last week, Uniloc added Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) (1:17-cv-01657) and Wink Labs (1:17-cv-01656) to a campaign over a patent, received from HP Enterprise (HPE), broadly related to exercising remote control over a wireless network. Motorola Mobility (1:17-cv-01658) was also added to the Uniloc campaign litigating another patent received from HPE, this one generally related to the exchange of information from a "portable computer" and a telephone, while Huawei (2:17-cv-01746) has been added to a sixth Uniloc campaign in 2017, that one litigating a former Fullpower Technologies patent broadly related to waking up a device based on its motion.
Uniloc Adds Huawei to Two Existing Campaigns, Launches New One Against NetSuite
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have ramped up litigation in 2017, already filing a dozen new campaigns, and unlike in years past, most of the 2017 cases filed have been over patents developed elsewhere and later acquired by Uniloc. In May 2017, Uniloc acquired five patents generally related to the interaction of mobile devices and their users' motion and originally developed at Fullpower Technologies; it has since initiated three campaigns asserting one or more of those patents, this past week adding cases against Huawei to two of those campaigns. Multiple additional 2017 campaigns of Uniloc assert patents acquired from HP Enterprise, and this past week, the NPE began yet another new campaign, this one asserting a patent, broadly concerned with display of data through a web browser, apparently acquired from IBM against Oracle subsidiary NetSuite.
Separate Uniloc Campaigns Hit Huawei and Peel Technologies
This past week, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) added Huawei (2:17-cv-00722) to their campaign litigating a single former HP Enterprise (HPE) patent generally related to changing how a battery is charged based on temperature. Smartphones, smartwatches, and tablets are at issue throughout the campaign, which has already hit Apple, HTC, Lenovo (Motorola Mobility), and LG Electronics (LGE). Huawei is accused of infringement through the manufacture and sale of certain of its smartphones.
October PTAB Activity Includes Petitions Against Repeat Players and Cancellation of Claims from Realtime Data Patent
In October 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw the filing of petitions for inter partes review (IPR) against a variety of frequent litigants, including publicly traded NPEs Acacia Research Corporation and Xperi Corporation, as well as privately held Monument Patent Holdings, LLC and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited. The Board also instituted trial in October for IPRs against multiple Acacia subsidiaries, Uniloc, and Papst Licensing GmbH & Company Kg. In addition, the PTAB issued an IPR final decision cancelling multiple claims from a data compression patent held by prolific plaintiff Realtime Data LLC, including the single claim that Riverbed Technology (one of the petitioners for the IPR) was found to infringe in a $4.3M verdict in May, with other final decisions issued in campaigns waged by TQ Delta LLC and publicly traded Quarterhill Inc. IPRs against IP Bridge, Inc. and Mobile Telecommunications Technologies, LLC also ended in termination in October after the patent owners requested adverse judgments.
Uniloc's Complaints for This Week Target More Smartphones…and Some Baby Monitors
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have continued filing new litigation for yet another consecutive week, adding additional suits to three of the 11 campaigns that the NPE has initiated in 2017. Lenovo (Motorola Mobility) has been added to two campaigns, the first case (1:17-cv-01526) asserting one former HP Enterprise (HPE) patent generally related to changing how a battery is charged based on temperature, and the second (1:17-cv-01527) asserting another former HPE patent generally related to the remote display of graphics from a mobile device. The third new case asserts yet another patent received from HPE, generally related to using a "palm-sized computer" to control a "service" on a network, this one against Binatone Electronics (Exclusive Group LLC d/b/a Binatone North America) (1:17-cv-03962).
Federal Circuit Affirms PTAB Invalidation of Uniloc Software Activation Patent Asserted in Sprawling, 14-Year Campaign
The Federal Circuit has upheld the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's (PTAB's) invalidation of a software activation patent asserted by Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited in more than 65 lawsuits against over 145 defendants (2016-2000). The invalid patent is the NPE's most widely litigated, in a campaign started 14 years ago. In an October 23 decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's holding, in two inter partes reviews, filed by Cambium Learning Group, Kofax, SEGA, and Ubisoft (IPR2014-01453) and Perfect World Entertainment (IPR2015-01026), that the patent at issue was not entitled to the earlier priority date of two Australian provisional applications. The court then declined to overturn the PTAB's ruling that the patent's claims are invalid in light of prior art.
Uniloc Adds HTC to Three of Its 2017 Campaigns, Huawei and LG Electronics Each to One of Them
So far in 2017, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed eleven cases against Apple. Uniloc subsequently added Samsung and/or LG Electronics (LGE) to several of those campaigns and continued in that vein late this past week, adding HTC (2:17-cv-01558) and Huawei (2:17-cv-00707) to one of them, HTC (2:17-cv-01562) and LGE (4:17-cv-00858) to a second, and HTC (2:17-cv-01561) to a third. Each of these campaigns asserts against the defendants patents that Uniloc received from HP Enterprise (HPE) earlier this year.
Uniloc Files an Eleventh 2017 Case Against Apple
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed an eleventh 2017 case against Apple (2:17-cv-00708), asserting a patent that RPX has followed from Paragon Solutions LLC to Red Dragon Innovations, LLC in a July assignment and from Red Dragon to Uniloc in another assignment earlier this month. The patent generally relates to monitoring exercise, with Uniloc accusing Apple of infringement through the manufacture and sale of smartwatches that "can be paired to allow a first user to share exercise information wirelessly with a second device", naming the Series 2, Series 3, and Nike+ models of the Apple Watch.
Uniloc Hits LG Electronics with Seven Cases in the Northern District of Texas
So far in 2017, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have initiated ten litigation campaigns, all of them against Apple, six asserting patents received from HP Enterprise (HPE), three asserting patents originally developed by Fullpower Technologies, and one asserting Uniloc's own patent. In August and September, Uniloc added cases against Samsung to four of those campaigns, and it has now added cases against LG Electronics (LGE) to seven of them. All of the cases brought so far this month have been filed in the Northern District of Texas.
Transfers to Uniloc and Network-1 Seen Among the Assignment Records Released During the First Week of October
RPX noted among the assignment records posted by the USPTO during the first week of October patent transfers to Uniloc Luxembourg S.A.; Blackbird Tech LLC; Network-1 Technologies, Inc.; Intellectual Ventures LLC; Optis Wireless Technology, LLC; and an apparent affiliate of IP Edge LLC.
September PTAB Activity Includes Wave of Networking Petitions and Final Decisions Against Uniloc
In September 2017, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw more than ten petitions filed in NPE campaigns involving networking and related technologies such as cybersecurity, including those waged by publicly traded Finjan Holdings, Inc.; prolific private litigant Realtime Data LLC; and Oyster Optics, LLC. Trial was instituted in September for an inter partes review (IPR) against Finjan and in IPRs against other frequent plaintiffs, including MyMail, Ltd. and Sound View Innovations, LLC. The Board issued final decisions in two covered business method (CBM) reviews against Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, the first AIA reviews against the NPE to reach final decisions since March 2016, and only the fourth to date. The PTAB also issued final decisions in IPRs against publicly traded Document Security Systems, Inc. as well as Acceleration Bay, LLC; Mobile Telecommunications Technologies, LLC; and Personalized Media Communications, LLC; among other NPEs.
Uniloc Sues Samsung in Three Cases over Motion-Sensing Patents
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed ten separate suits against Apple in 2017, adding a second case, against Samsung, in early August to one of those new campaigns. Within two weeks, Uniloc dropped that Samsung suit, without prejudice, but the NPE has now filed three more cases against Samsung, again adding the tech giant to campaigns begun earlier in the year against Apple. The first suit (2:17-cv-00650) asserts three patents broadly related to a device for monitoring human activity; the second (2:17-cv-00651), a single patent generally related to a device for counting its user's steps; and the third (2:17-cv-00652), a single patent generally related to waking up a device based on its motion. Uniloc received all five patents, which were developed at Fullpower Technologies, in a May 2017 assignment. Various mobile devices made and sold by Samsung with the capacity to sense motion are the accused products.
Uniloc Agrees to Transfer Big Fish Games Case but Continues Overall Push to Stay in Texas
The case brought by Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (collectively, "Uniloc") against Big Fish Games has been transferred from the Eastern District of Texas (2:17-cv-00172) to the Western District of Washington (2:17-cv-01183) by joint stipulation. Although Uniloc agreed to the transfer in this instance, its overall behavior in the wake of TC Heartland has bucked the general trend in which NPEs have either ridden the wave of transfers from Texas or shifted their efforts elsewhere. Many NPEs have increasingly avoided the Eastern District of Texas in new filings while either conceding to venue challenges or dismissing and re-filing existing cases in other venues, with early favorites including the District of Delaware, the Northern District of Illinois, and the Northern District of California. Uniloc, by contrast, has continued to file litigation in the Eastern District of Texas and has shown a greater willingness to push back against venue motions.
Uniloc Launches Tenth 2017 Campaign Against Apple, Adding Samsung as a Defendant to One Filed Earlier
Uniloc—Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (as patent owner) and Uniloc USA, Inc. (as exclusive licensee)—has filed yet another lawsuit against Apple (2:17-cv-00571), again asserting one of the 13 patents that the NPE acquired from HP Enterprise (HPE) this past May. The patent generally relates to using a "palm-sized computer" to control a "service" on a network, with infringement allegations focusing on "palm-sized iOS devices" and Apple TV, the former controlling the latter through operation of the Apple TV Remote app. This newest campaign against Apple comes a day after Uniloc added Samsung (2:17-cv-00562) as a defendant in an earlier campaign launched in late May, also against Apple. The complaint against Samsung asserts a single patent, generally related to remotely dialing a telephone number, accusing Samsung of infringement through provision of devices that, in combination, dial a stored telephone number.
2017 Barrage of New Uniloc Campaigns Against Apple Continues in July
In a mid-May 2017 transaction, Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) acquired 13 patents from HP Enterprise (HPE). With two cases filed this past week added to three filed back in May, Uniloc has now asserted six of those patents against Apple. On July 12, Uniloc sued Apple (2:17-cv-00534) over a single patent (6,622,018) generally related to exercising remote control over a wireless network, accusing Apple of infringement through the manufacture and sale of iOS and MacOS devices that can control remote devices over a wireless connection through AirPlay, with the iOS devices further alleged to infringe through the Apple TV Remote and Apple Home apps. The NPE then sued Apple (2:17-cv-00535), on that same day, over two patents (6,161,134; 6,446,127) generally related to the exchange of information from a "portable computer" and a telephone. The accused products identified in this second July case are various devices (iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and Macs) that offer the Continuity feature, which in relevant part allows the user to make a phone call from a separate iPhone. Uniloc has now begun nine new litigation campaigns in 2017, each one against only Apple (so far).
June Sees PTAB Petitions and Decisions in Large and Long-Running Campaigns
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw petitions for AIA review filed against a variety of prolific litigants in June 2017, including General Patent Corporation, Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV), Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.), Realtime Data LLC, Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited, and Xperi Corporation (f/k/a Tessera Holding Corporation). Also in June, the PTAB instituted trial for petitions brought against patents asserted in a variety of sprawling campaigns, including some waged by Acacia Research Corporation, IV, Papst Licensing, Quarterhill, and VirnetX Inc. The Board further issued final decisions throughout June in AIA reviews against patents involved in several notable campaigns, including some waged by Document Security Systems, Inc., Elm 3DS Innovations LLC, Empire IP LLC, and Quarterhill.
Uniloc Bookends June with Suits Against Apple, Paring Venue Allegations Down to Nothing
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, Uniloc) have closed June as they began the month: suing Apple. Roughly four weeks ago, Uniloc asserted two (7,690,556; 8,872,646) of five patents, received in a single May 2017 assignment, in separate lawsuits against the company, and now, on the last day of June, the NPE has asserted the other three (7,653,508; 7,881,902; 8,712,723) in one suit (2:17-cv-00522) targeting Apple's iPhones, iPads, and Watches "capable of counting steps or other periodic human motions". The more recently asserted patents form a family of three generally related to a device for monitoring human activity. Uniloc has now filed seven cases against Apple in 2017 alone.
RPX Blog: As Expected, TC Heartland Decision Triggers Flurry of Venue Filings
Since the US Supreme Court issued its decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, RPX has seen an upswing in venue-related filings by both plaintiffs and defendants—with indications that some NPEs may be throwing in the towel on Texas, while others are seemingly digging in. Defendants have also begun to adapt their defensive strategies, asserting more comprehensive interpretations of the patent venue statute and proactively maintaining their right to bring venue challenges down the road.
Uniloc Hit with Venue Motions After Hunkering Down in Texas
A variety of NPEs have reacted to the US Supreme Court's decision in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands (2016-0341) by either dismissing and re-filing their cases in other districts or simply conceding venue challenges. In contrast, Australian NPE Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited has further dug its heels into the Eastern District of Texas. Shortly after Uniloc filed a series of new and amended complaints against Google, designed to establish proper venue in the Eastern District, defendants in some of the NPE's other Texas litigation filed a host of venue motions against it. On June 2, Ubisoft (2:16-cv-00745, 2:16-cv-00781) filed two motions both seeking transfer to the Northern District of California or dismissal for improper venue in litigation targeting its software licensing and notification systems, joined by a similar motion filed by Piriform on June 7 (in a consolidated action against AVG, 2:16-cv-00393) seeking dismissal or transfer to Delaware. Ubisoft filed another such motion in Uniloc's software update campaign on June 2 (2:17-cv-00175), also seeking transfer to the Northern District of California or dismissal for improper venue, joined by another Northern District transfer/dismissal motion brought by Box (2:17-cv-00173), with campaign co-defendant Zendesk (2:17-cv-00176) filing its own motion to dismiss due to improper venue that same day.
Assignment Records Released by the USPTO During the Second Half of May Reflect Ongoing, and Upcoming, Litigation Campaigns
RPX took notice, among the USPTO assignment records made available during the latter half of May, of the transfer of patents from operating companies HP Enterprise, Panasonic, and Qisda to various NPEs. Two of those NPEs (Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Deshodax LLC) have already launched campaigns asserting some of the transacted patents. RPX also saw during this time the recordation of assignments to Brian Yates; Fortress Investment Group LLC; Intellectual Ventures LLC; Blackbird Tech LLC; and IP Bridge, Inc., among others.
Uniloc Files Yet More Cases Against Apple in the Eastern District of Texas
On May 17, 2017, DP Technologies, an affiliate of California-based Fullpower Technologies, assigned five US patents to Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. The NPE, as patent owner, along with its affiliate Uniloc USA, Inc., as exclusive licensee, (collectively, Uniloc), has filed two separate lawsuits against Apple, each asserting one of the patents received from DP Technologies. The first case (2:17-cv-00469) accuses Apple of infringing a single patent (8,872,646) generally related to waking up a device based on its motion through the manufacture and sale of iPhones and the Apple Watch with "Raise to Wake functionality". The second case (2:17-cv-00470) accuses Apple of infringing another former Fullpower Technologies patent (7,690,556), this one generally related to a device for counting its user's steps. Infringement allegations focus on iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches capable of calculating steps taken, distance covered, and elevation changed. Both cases have been brought in the Eastern District of Texas, where Uniloc contends venue is proper.
Uniloc Splits Texas Cases Against Google, Pleading Expansive Venue Allegations
The US Supreme Court's TC Heartland decision on proper venue in patent cases has prompted new filings in multiple litigation campaigns, including in the group voice messaging campaign of Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (Uniloc). In March, before TC Heartland, Uniloc filed three complaints in the Eastern District of Texas against different Google products: Google Hangouts (alleging infringement of 7,535,890; 8,199,747; 8,724,622; 8,995,433); the Android Messages app (alleging infringement of the '890, '622, and '433 patents); and the Allo messaging app (also alleging infringement of the '890, '622, and '433 patents). Just over a week after TC Heartland, Uniloc has responded, at least with respect to its cases against Alphabet (Google) in this campaign, by filing amended complaints in each of those March cases that both drop the '890 and '433 patents and add lengthy allegations in support of Uniloc's contention that venue remains proper in the Eastern District. On the same day, Uniloc also filed new, original complaints against Google, asserting the '890 and '433 patents against Hangouts (2:17-cv-00465), the Android Messages app (2:17-cv-00467), and the Allo messaging app (2:17-cv-00466), again with much more detailed venue allegations.
May Sees PTAB Petitions Against NPEs More than Double
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) saw 54 petitions for AIA review brought against NPEs in May, up from 20 such petitions filed in April. May PTAB filings included a resurgence in petitions against publicly traded NPEs, including Acacia Research Corporation; Pendrell Corporation; Quest Patent Research Corporation; VoIP-Pal.com, Inc.; Xperi Corporation (f/k/a Tessera Holding Corporation); and Wi-LAN Inc. (WiLAN) (which was renamed to Quarterhill Inc. on June 1). A variety of private litigants were also hit by PTAB petitions in May, including Blackbird Tech LLC, Global Equity Management (SA) Pty. Ltd., General Patent Corporation, Realtime Data LLC, and Uniloc Corporation Pty. Limited.
Uniloc Files Three More Texas Cases Against Apple
Uniloc USA, Inc. (as exclusive licensee) and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (as patent owner) (collectively, Uniloc) have filed three new cases against Apple. Each new complaint asserts a single patent not seen before in litigation. In the first case (2:17-cv-00454), the NPE accuses Apple of infringing a patent (6,661,203), generally related to changing how a battery is charged based on temperature, through the manufacture and sale of mobile devices (Apple Watch, laptops, iPhones, iPads, and iPods) with built-in mechanisms to prevent overheating. In the second (2:17-cv-00455), Uniloc asserts a patent (6,580,422), generally related to the remote display of graphics from a mobile device, targeting display and/or playback from iPhones or iPads through Apple TV. In the third suit (2:17-cv-00457), Uniloc asserts a single patent (7,092,671) generally related to remotely dialing a telephone number against using iPads and iPhones in combination to dial a stored telephone number. The patents asserted are three out of a group of 13 patents that Uniloc received in a May 16, 2017 transaction from HP Enterprise.
Uniloc Continues to Add Defendants, Myriad Setbacks Notwithstanding
Prolific plaintiffs Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (collectively, Uniloc) continue to add cases across multiple open litigation campaigns even as it faces Alice invalidations, trials instituted before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), venue transfers, and the withdrawal of Texas litigation counsel.
Uniloc Asserts Three of Its Co-Founder's Patents Against Apple
Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (collectively, Uniloc) have filed a new case against Apple (2:17-cv-000258), asserting three patents (8,239,852; 8,838,976; 9,414,199) that name Uniloc co-founder Craig S. Etchegoyen as sole inventor. The '852 patent generally relates to remote updates to a recognized computing device, with the provision of authenticated software updates for iOS devices identified as the alleged act of infringement. The '976 patent generally relates to granting access to content based on the identity of the requesting device; for this patent, Uniloc targets Apple ID authentication services that link a device's Unique Device Identifier (UDID) to a user account. Finally, the '199 patent generally relates to delivering targeted information to a device based on its history, with Apple accused of infringement through provision of its Frequent Locations feature in iOS.
Alice Topples Uniloc's Medical Records Campaign
A Texas judge has invalidated a pair of medical records patents (5,682,526; 5,715,451) asserted by Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (collectively, "Uniloc"). In an order issued on March 30, District Judge Robert Schroeder III granted multiple motions to dismiss filed by Harris Computer, Netsmart Technologies, Picis, Practice Fusion, and QuadraMed in a consolidated action against Medical Information Technology (d/b/a Meditech) (6:16-cv-00463), ruling that the '526 and '451 patents are invalid under Alice as impermissibly directed to the abstract ideas of "organizing medical data in a hierarchy" and "creating and storing user-constructed formulas", respectively. This is the second and final blow dealt to the campaign under Alice, with a single claim from each patent previously found ineligible in an August 2015 decision by Judge Schroeder.
Uniloc Hits Amazon Once and Google Twice More
Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (Uniloc ) have filed three new cases, two against Alphabet (Google) (2:17-cv-00214; 2:17-cv-000224) and one against Amazon (2:17-cv-00228). The -214 case against accuses Google of infringing three patents (7,535,890; 8,724,622; 8,995,433) from a first family of five at issue in its group voice messaging campaign through its Android Messages app, while the company is accused in the -224 case of infringing those same three patents, as well as a fourth (8,199,747) from the same family, through its Google Hangout app. Uniloc asserts three patents from a second five-member family (7,853,000; 7,804,948; 8,571,194) against Amazon, targeting provision of Amazon Chime. This family generally relates to initiating conference calls from an instant message app.
In New Campaign, Uniloc Asserts More Former IBM Patents, Recently Acquired, Against a Familiar Five Defendants
Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. and Uniloc USA, Inc. (Uniloc) have launched their first new campaign in over six months, suing Box (2:17-cv-00173), Churchill Downs (Big Fish Games) (2:17-cv-00172), Nutanix (2:17-cv-00174), Ubisoft (2:17-cv-00175), and ZenDesk (2:17-cv-00176) over two former IBM patents (6,110,228; 6,564,229). The '228 patent generally relates to updating software remotely; the '229 patent, to pausing while copying data from one location to another. The NPE has targeted similar features in each of the five defendants' software products that allow for customer-requested or automated updates over the Internet. Big Fish Games and Ubisoft are accused of infringing the '229 patent through their games download portals, within which Uniloc points to the ability to pause the download of a requested game while computer resources are used for other things, before the download later resumes.
Uniloc Adds Six More Defendants to Its Software License and Delivery Campaign
Big Fish Games (2:16-cv-00858), Blackboard (2:16-cv-00859), Box (2:16-cv-00860), Carbonite (2:16-cv-00861), NetSuite (2:16-cv-00862), and Zendesk (2:16-cv-00863) are the latest defendants to be swept into a litigation campaign kicked off by Uniloc USA, Inc. and Uniloc Luxembourg S.A. (collectively, Uniloc) this past April. With a subsequent round of complaints filed in July, as well as this newest round, the number of defendants is approaching 20. Four former IBM patents (6,324,578; 6,728,766; 6,510,466; 7,069,293) are asserted; the defendants' software licensing and delivery systems are at issue in the campaign.