InterDigital, Inc. is a patent licensing entity that claims to have a stash of standard-essential patents.  The company hasn’t shied away from litigation either:  For example, it has a hearing next month in the U.S. International Trade Commission on its complaint that Huawei, LG, Nokia, and ZTE infringed some of its 3G cellular standard-essential patents (Inv. No. 337-TA-800) and has been involved in two other ITC investigations.  Yesterday, InterDigital announced that it filed another Section 337 complaint with the ITC.  This complaint alleges that Proposed Respondents Huawei, Nokia, Samsung, and ZTE infringe various InterDigital patents by importing into the United States mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, etc.) that are compatible with certain 3G and 4G wireless communications standards (WCDMA, CDMA2000, and LTE).  InterDigital is seeking an exclusion order that would bar these companies from importing these accused devices into the United States, as well as a cease and desist order preventing sale and distribution of accused devices that already entered the United States.
Continue Reading Interdigital Files Complaint with ITC alleging 3G, 4G Patent Infringement

Because so many SEP-related issues have arisen over the past year, we will periodically revisit some of the more noteworthy occurrences with a brief post.  In this post, we explore recent and ongoing patent assertion activities of Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC.

On February 28, 2011, Broadcom Corporation assigned 31 U.S. patents to a company named Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC.  After acquiring these patents, Innovatio then sent letters to thousands of entities – including restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, grocery stores – alleging infringement of these patents, which Innovatio claimed to be essential to the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard.  Innovatio sought royalties from these entities, reportedly seeking $2500-3000 from each outlet for a license to the patents.  When negotiations broke down, Innovatio also filed lawsuits against dozens of these entities, claiming they infringed the patents through their respective use of products that comply with the 802.11 standard.Continue Reading Catching up on…Innovatio IP Ventures, LLC’s Litigation Activities