Marshall Division
June 29
Plaintiff DownUnder Wireless is a Texas limited liability company with its principal place of business in Tyler.
According to the complaint, DownUnder is the owner by assignment of U.S. Patent No. 6,741,215 issued May 25, 2004, for an Inverted Safety Antenna for Personal Communication Devices.
The plaintiff alleges that eight companies are infringing the '215 Patent. The defendants named in the suit are HTC Corp., LG Electronics, Motorola Inc., Nokia Corp., Pantech Wireless Inc., Personal Communications Devices LLC, Sharp Electronics Corp. and Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA) Inc.
Defendants are infringing the '215 Patent, the suit claims, by using or selling wireless communication devices comprising a housing, a microphone, a speaker earpiece, a user interface mounted in an upright orientation on the communication device and a transmitting antenna.
"The infringing instrumentalities are provided such that during use, the communication device positions the transmitting antenna away from the user's ear because of the distance between the speaker earpiece and said transmitting antenna," the complaint states.
Some of the infringing products named in the suit are the HTC Shadow phones; LG Rhythm, Shine and Venus; Motorola Evoke, Hint and Sidekick Slide; Nokia Navigator; Pantech Ocean 2 and Matrix; PCD Blitz, QuickFire and Shuttle; and Sony Ericsson.
DownUnder is seeking a permanent injunction enjoining defendants; a judgment and order requiring defendants to pay plaintiff its damages, costs, expenses and interest; enhanced damages for willful infringement; attorneys' fees and other relief to which it may be entitled.
William E. Davis III of The Davis Firm PC in Longview is representing the plaintiff.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge T. John Ward and referred to Magistrate Judge Charles Everingham for pretrial proceedings.
Case No. 2:09-cv-206-TJW-CE
July 2
Plaintiff Creston Electronics claims to own the rights to U.S. Patent No. D569,863 issued May 27, 2008, for a Tabletop Media Center.
Creston alleges that RGB Systems, doing business as Extron, is infringing the '863 Patent under its TouchLink mark, including but not limited to, model TLP 350CV.
"RGB Systems has infringed, contributed to the infringement of, and/or induced infringement of the '863 Patent through actions undertaken in connection with tabletop media centers," the complaint states.
The plaintiff claims that as a direct and proximate result of the defendant's infringement it has suffered and will continue to suffer damages.
"Plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law and will be irreparably injured unless Defendant's acts of infringement are enjoined by this Court," the complaint states.
Crestron is seeking an award of all damages recoverable under the U.S. Patent Laws in an amount to be proven at trial, a preliminary and permanent injunction, interest, costs, attorneys' fees and other just and equitable relief.
Harry L. Gillam Jr. of Gillam & Smith LLP in Marshall is representing the plaintiff.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge T. John Ward.
Case No. 2:09-cv-210-TJW
Texarkana Division
July 2
Plaintiff Changzhou is a corporation of the People's Republic of China. According to the complaint, the company designs and sells portable global positioning system dash mounts for mounting electronic devices, specifically global positioning devices, on the dashboard or a vehicle or other similar surface.
"Defendants are direct competitors of Changzhou and also distribute and sell portable positioning cushions for electronic devices," the complaint states.
Changzhou has created an innovative ornamental design portable global position system dash mounts, the suit states. The innovative ornamental design is the subject of U.S. Patent No. D588,392. Changzhou claims it is the owner by assignment of the '392 Patent.
Changzhou alleges that defendants Best Buy, Bracketron, Circuit City, Custom Quest, Nextar, Office Depot, RadioShack, REI Corp., Scosche Industries, Staples, Target, TomTom and Wal-Mart are infringing the '392 Patent.
The allegedly infringing products include, but are not limited to, the product sold under the trade name "Nav-Mat."
The plaintiff is seeking an award of damages adequate to compensate it for its profits lost, but not less than a reasonable royalty. It is also seeking treble damages, costs, injunctive relief, attorneys' fees and further relief to which it may be entitled.
S. Calvin Capshaw of Capshaw DeRieux LLP in Longview is representing the plaintiff. Chad E. Nydegger of Workman Nydegger in Salt Lake City, Utah, is of counsel.
Court assignment is pending.
Case No. 5:09-cv-095
July 7
Plaintiff WIAV claims it owns the rights to U.S. Patent Nos. 6,480,497 for a Method and Apparatus for Maximizing Data Throughput in a Packet Radio Mesh Network and 5,400,338 for a Parasitic Adoption of Coordinate-Based Addressing by Roaming Node.
According to the complaint, 70 defendants have used and continue to use the technology claimed by the '497 and '338 Patents in systems and methods that defendants make, use, sell and offer for sale without plaintiff's permission.
The defendant companies named in the suit include Acer, Apple Inc., Belkin Inc., Brother, Canon, Cisco Systems, Dell, Epson, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, Linksys, Motorola, Nintendo, Nokia, Palm, Panasonic, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and Xerox.
The infringing products include portable computer devices, wireless communication devices, wireless networking devices, notebook cards, USB adapters, wireless routers, video game consoles and portable video game consoles, mobile workstations, printing and imaging products and portable computer products.
Well-known products named in the suit include the Macbook, iPhone, Nintendo Wii, Palm Pre, Palm Centro, Palm Treo Pro and Sony VAIO.
The plaintiff claims the defendants' infringements have been willful and deliberate.
WIAV is seeking compensatory damages no less than a reasonable royalty, interest, costs, treble damages for willful infringement, expenses, attorneys' fees and other just and proper relief.
The plaintiff is represented by Adrian and Erica Pruetz of the Pruetz Law Firm in El Segundo, Calif., Tae H. Kim of Echelon Law Group PC in San Francisco, Calif., and Kevin Mun of Echelon Law Group PC in Vienna, Va.
Court assignment is pending.
Case No. 5:09-cv-101
Tyler Division
July 7
According to the complaint, plaintiff Southwire is a "prominent cable and wire manufacturer" known for its innovation and its ownership of more than 400 patents and research and development of new products.
Southwire claims it is the owner of U.S. Patent No. 7,557,301 issued July 7 for a Method and Manufacturing Electrical Cable Having Reduced Required Force for Installation.
The plaintiff alleges that defendant Encore has infringed the '301 Patent by making electrical cables, including but not limited to Super Slick cables, utilizing Southwire's patented process.
Defendant Cerro is alleged to have infringed the '301 Patent by making Thermoplastic High Heat-resistant Nylon-coated and non-metallic sheathed cables.
Southwire claims it has no adequate remedy at law for defendants' infringing acts unless enjoined by the court.
Southwire is seeking injunctive relief, compensatory damages, interest, costs and other relief the court deems just and proper.
Jason W. Cook of Alston & Bird LLP in Dallas is lead attorney for the plaintiff. Attorneys from the Alston & Bird offices in Altanta, Ga., are of counsel.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Leonard E. Davis.
Case No. 6:09-cv-289-LED
July 8
Plaintiff Aloft Media is a Texas limited liability company with its principal place of business in Longview.
Aloft claims to own the rights to U.S. Patent No. 7,529,795 issued May 5 for a Message Board Aggregator.
According to the complaint, defendants Yahoo! and Google are infringing the '795 Patent by making, using or selling computer software products including MyYahoo! and iGoogle.
"As a result of Defendants' infringement of the '795 Patent, Aloft Media has suffered monetary damages … adequate to compensate it for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty," the complaint states.
Aloft is seeking compensatory damages, costs, expenses, interest and other relief to which it may be entitled.
Eric Albritton of the Albritton Law Firm in Longview is representing Aloft Media.
Court assignment is pending.
Case No. 6:09-cv-291