NPEs started the year active.* Frequent filers included A.L.M. Holding Company, Alpha Modus, AML IP, Big Will Enterprises, Cedar Lane, H2 Intellect, HyperQuery,  Linfo IP, Modulus Systems, Nearby Systems, Patent Armory, Random Chat, S3G Technology, Torus Ventures (with a huge number of cases filed), and Web 2.0 Technologies.

As usual, I prepared the report in partnership with and using Docket Navigator and its powerful database. Docket Navigator is a valuable resource, and the place to go if you want to keep track of new patent litigation filings or want to know what is happening in particular cases, how your judge has historically handled a particular type of motion, or a particular plaintiff’s litigation history. Finally, please let me know if you have thoughts about the report or changes you would like to see. I am preparing it as a service for retailers and their supply chain who may want an overview of the patent litigation landscape. So, I am very open to your suggestions for improving the report.

* Note I am catching up on a backlog because of some very busy IP litigation over the last year or so.

A.L.M. Holding Company et al v. Zydex Industries Private Limited et al (D. Del.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Zydex Inc.
  • Zydex Industries Private Limited

Plaintiffs:

  • A.L.M. Holding Co.
  • Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions, Inc.

Pls. Cnsl:        Husch Blackwell; Phillips McLaughlin & Hall 

Patents:         10,214,646 (Warm mix paving composition w/lubricating antistrip additive); 7,815,725 (Warm asphalt binder compositions containing lubricating agents); 7,981,466 (Warm mix asphalt binder compositions containing lubricating additives); 8,734,581 (Processing bituminous mixtures for paving at reduced temperatures); 9,175,446 (Processing bituminous mixtures for paving at reduced temperatures); 9,394,652 (Warm mix asphalt binder compositions containing lubricating additives)

Alpha Modus, Corp. v. Walgreen Co. d/b/a Walgreens (E.D. Tex.).

Judges:         District Judge Rodney Gilstrap; Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne

Claims:          Infringement

Defendant:   Walgreen Co. d/b/a Walgreens

Plaintiff:        Alpha Modus, Corp.

Pls. Cnsl:       Dickinson Wright

Patents:        10,360,571 (Method for monitoring and analyzing behavior and uses thereof); 10,977,672 (Method and system for real-time inventory management, marketing, and advertising in a retail store); 11,042,890 (Method and system for customer assistance in a retail store)

AML IP, LLC v. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation (multiple cases) (W.D. Tex.).  

Judge:           District Judge David Counts

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation
  • Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
  • Domino’s Pizza, Inc.  

Pls. Cnsl:        Torrid LLC

Plaintiff:       AML IP LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Ramey

Patent:           7,177,838 (Method and apparatus for conducting electronic commerce transactions using electronic tokens)

Big Will Enterprises Inc. v. Osram GMBH et al (W.D. Tex.).

Defendants:

  • AutoZone, Inc.
  • OSRAM GmbH

Plaintiff:       Big Will Enterprises Inc.

Pls. Cnsl:       Eureka Intellectual Property Law

Patents:        10,521,846 (Targeted advertisement selection for a wireless communication device (WCD)); 8,452,273 (Systems and methods for determining mobile thing motion activity (MTMA) using accelerometer of wireless communication device); 8,559,914 (Interactive personal surveillance and security (IPSS) system); 8,737,951 (Interactive personal surveillance and security (IPSS) systems and methods); 9,049,558 (Systems and methods for determining mobile thing motion activity (MTMA) using sensor data of wireless communication device (WCD) and initiating activity-based actions)

Cardtek International, Inc. v. CHICK-FIL-A, INC. (E.D. Tex.).

Judges:         District Judge Rodney Gilstrap; Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne

Claims:          Infringement

Defendant:    Chick-Fil-A, Inc.

Plaintiff:        Cardtek International, Inc.

Pls. Cnsl:       The Heartfield Law Firm; Cadwell Clonts Reeder & Thomas; Hicks Johnson

Patents:         7,039,593 (Payment convergence system and method); 8,600,770 (Payment convergence system and method)

Cedar Lane Technologies Inc. v. Cobra Trading, Inc. (E.D. Tex., N.D. Tex.).

Judge:           District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Cobra Trading, Inc.
  • Doo Technology Singapore Pte. Ltd  
  • FMR LLC 
  • The Charles Schwab Corporation
  • Hilltop Securities Inc.
  • Cobra Trading, Inc.

Plaintiff:       Cedar Lane Technologies Inc.

Pls. Cnsl:       Rabicoff Law; DNL Zito

Patent:          8,577,782 (Trading with conditional offers for semi-anonymous participants)

H2 Intellect LLC v. The Home Depot, Inc. et al (multiple cases) (E.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Home Depot Product Authority, LLC
  • Home Depot USA, Inc.
  • The Home Depot, Inc.
  • Amazon.com, Inc.
  • Amazon.com Services LLC
  • Whole Foods Market, Inc.

Plaintiff:        H2 Intellect LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Winston & Strawn

Patents:        11,948,171 (Exclusive delivery of content within geographic areas); 8,977,247 (Exclusive delivery of content within geographic areas); 9,286,625 (Exclusive delivery of content within geographic areas)

Happy Products, Inc. v. The Kroger Co. (E.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendant:   The Kroger Co.

Plaintiff:        Happy Products, Inc.

Pls. Cnsl:       Devlin Law Firm

Patent:          RE48,479 (Multiple viewing angle media support)

HyperQuery LLC v. Canva US, Inc. (W.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendant:    Canva US, Inc.

Plaintiff:        HyperQuery LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Rabicoff Law

Patent:          9,529,918 (System and methods thereof for downloading applications via a communication network)

Linfo IP, LLC v. The Knot Worldwide, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., W.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • The Knot Worldwide, Inc.
  • Waimate B LLC d/b/a Soludos
  • Blenders Eyewear, LLC  
  • J.Crew Group, LLC

Plaintiff:        Linfo IP, LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Law Office of David J. Hoffman

Patent:           9,430,131 (System, methods, and user interface for organizing unstructured data objects)

Modulus Systems LLC v. Ikea North America Services LLC (E.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendant:     IKEA North America Services, LLC

Plaintiff:        Modulus Systems LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Rabicoff Law

Patent:           8,410,990 (Antenna with integrated RF module)

Nearby Systems LLC v. Papa Johns International, Inc. (multiple cases) (E.D. Tex.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:  

  • Papa John’s International, Inc.
  • Smoothie King Franchises, Inc.

Plaintiff:        Nearby Systems LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Rozier Hardt McDonough

Patents:         10,469,980 (Mashing mapping content displayed on mobile devices); 12,185,177 (Mashing mapping content displayed on mobile devices); 9,532,164 (Mashing mapping content displayed on mobile devices)

Patent Armory Inc. v. GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (N.D. Ill., D. Mass.).

Judge:           District Judge Georgia N. Alexakis

Claims:         Infringement

Defendants:

  • GE HealthCare Technologies Inc.
  • Southcoast Health System, Inc.

Plaintiff:        Patent Armory Inc. 

Pls. Cnsl:       Dickinson Wright; Rabicoff Law

Patents:        10,237,420 (Method and system for matching entities in an auction); 10,491,748 (Intelligent communication routing system and method); 7,023,979 (Telephony control system with intelligent call routing); 7,269,253 (Telephony control system with intelligent call routing);

9,456,086 (Method and system for matching entities in an auction)

Pointwise Ventures LLC v. Boohoo.com UK Limited (multiple cases) (E.D. Tex.).  

Judge:           District Judge Rodney Gilstrap

Claims:         Infringement

Defendants:

  • Boohoo.com UK Limited 
  • The Home Depot, Inc.

Plaintiff:       Pointwise Ventures LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Rabicoff Law

Patent:          8,471,812 (Pointing and identification device)

Random Chat, LLC v. Advance Auto Part, Inc. (W.D. Tex., S.D.N.Y.).

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Advance Auto Part, Inc.
  • Freshworks Inc.

Plaintiff:       Random Chat, LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Law Office of David J. Hoffman; Ramey

Patent:          8,402,099 (Method for carrying out a multimedia communication based on a network protocol, particularly tcp/ip and/or udp)

Rokiot USA, LLC v. IKEA North America Services, LLC (E.D. Tex.).

Judges:          Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne; District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III

Claims:         Infringement

Defendant:     IKEA North America Services, LLC

Plaintiff:        Rokiot USA, LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Charhon Callahan Robson & Garza

Patents:          7,895,257 (Modular platform enabling heterogeneous devices, sensors and actuators to integrate automatically into heterogeneous networks); 8,631,063 (Modular platform enabling heterogeneous devices, sensors and actuators to integrate automatically into heterogeneous networks)

S3G Technology LLC v. Dollar Tree Stores, Inc. (multiple cases) (E.D. Tex.).

Judges:         District Judge Rodney Gilstrap; Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Dollar Tree Stores, Inc.
  • Texas Roadhouse, Inc.

Plaintiff:        S3G Technology LLC

Pls. Cnsl:       Parker Bunt & Ainsworth

Patents:        10,387,140 (Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine); 11,662,995 (Network efficient location-based dialogue sequence using virtual processor); 9,304,758 (Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine); 9,940,124 (Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine); 8,572,571 (Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine); 9,081,897 (Modification of terminal and service provider machines using an update server machine)

Torus Ventures LLC v. VA Claims Insider, LLC (W.D. Tex., E.D. Tex.).

Judge:           District Judge Rodney Gilstrap

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • VA Claims Insider, LLC
  • Brinker International, Inc. 
  • Briza, Inc.  
  • Care N’ Care Insurance Company, Inc.  
  • CERIS Inc. 
  • HealthMarkets Insurance Agency, Inc, 
  • Moody National Bank 
  • Navsav, LLC 
  • Oceanwide Sail Expeditions, Inc 
  • One Source Risk Management And Funding, Inc  
  • Our Infinite Company 
  • Texas Mutual Insurance Company 
  • The Brokerage, Inc
  • The City National Bank of Sulphur Springs 
  • The Falls City National Bank 
  • First National Bank of Central Texas
  • The First National Bank of Livingston
  • The First National Bank of Shiner 
  • The Littleton Group Western Division, Inc. 
  • The Nitsche Group, Inc  
  • The State National Bank of Big Spring  
  • Tolleson Private Bank  
  • TWFG Insurance Services, LLC 
  • University Title Company  
  • Upshaw Insurance Agency, Inc 
  • VA Claims Insider, LLC 
  • Valley Land Title Company, Ltd
  • Verabank Community Development Corporation
  • VT Insurance Agency LLC 
  • WEBTPA Employer Services, LLC  
  • Whataburger Restaurants LLC  
  • Whitestone Reit Operating Company IV LLC 
  • Wingstop Restaurants Inc. 
  • Tectonic Financial, Inc  
  • Texas Gulf Bank National Association 
  • Texas Heritage National Bank  
  • Texas Life Insurance Company 
  • Republic Title of Texas, Inc. 
  • Sanford & Tatum Building, LLC 
  • SHA, LLC 
  • Southwestern National Bank 
  • Spot Insurance Agency, Inc. 
  • Startex Title Agency, LLC  
  • State National Insurance Company, Inc. 
  • Superior HealthPlan, Inc. 
  • T Bank, National Association 
  • TopGolf International, Inc. 
  • Pizza Hut, LLC f/k/a Pizza Hut, Inc.  
  • Pluckers, Inc 
  • Pronto Insurance & Financial Services, LTD 
  • PropertyInfo Corporation 
  • ProtectAll USA, LLC 
  • Quantum Energy Partners, LLC 

Plaintiff:        Torus Ventures LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Rabicoff Law

Patent:           7,203,844 (Method and system for a recursive security protocol for digital copyright control)

Web 2.0 Technologies, LLC et al v. Christus Good Shepard Medical Center (E.D. Tex., W.D. Tex.).      

Claims:          Infringement

Defendants:

  • Christus Good Shepard Medical Center 
  • Longview Regional Medical Center 
  • St. Lukes Health Memorial Hospital 
  • Methodist Hospital Hill Country 
  • Ascension Providence Hospital
  • Advent Health Central Texas 
  • Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Hillcrest 
  • Seton Medical Center Harker Heights 

Plaintiffs:

  • Pennar Software Corporation
  • Web 2.0 Technologies, LLC

Pls. Cnsl:        Devlin Law Firm

Patent:           9,465,913 (Online repository for personal information)