Recent patent infringement cases filed in the Eastern District of Texas

BEAUMONT DIVISION 

Oct. 8 

• Affinity Labs of Texas LLC v Nissan North America Inc. et al Case No. 1:14-cv-00508

Plaintiff Affinity Labs is a Texas limited liability company based in Dripping Springs.

Defendants are Nissan North America Inc., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., Denso Corp. and Denso International America Inc.

According to the complaint, Affinity Labs was founded in 2008 by Russell White and Harlie Frost. White is an entrepreneur and patent attorney from Houston with a degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M and University of Temple Law School. After earning his law degree, White co-founded SBC Knowledge Ventures, an entity within AT&T.

In March 2000, White and Kevin Imes applied for a patent to address the problem of accessing, managing and communicating digital audio and video content. In doing so, the application disclosed a number of inventions relating to creating a new media ecosystem with a portable electronic audio device such as a smartphone at its center, the suit states.

“The ‘812 application also disclosed the ability to download music and playlists from an online store or stream Internet radio to the portable electronic device then connect the device to a second device such as an automobile with a display.”

According to the suit, the disclosures in the ‘812 application were made “more than a year before the iPod was released in October 2001, three years before iTunes Store sold its first song, seven years before the first iPhone was sold, eight years before the App Store was launched and eight years before the functionality of having the music available on a portable device be displayed and selected using controls on an automobile stereo system and played through the speakers was available using an iPhone and some luxury vehicles.”

On Jan. 29, 2008, the PTO issued U.S. Patent No. 7,324,833 for a System and Method for Connecting a Portable Audio Player to an Automobile Sound System. The ‘833 Patent was issued from a continuation application claiming priority to the ‘812 application.

In a 2010 decision, an East Texas jury awarded Affinity Labs $12,986,530 in an infringement trial against Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen.

Nissan is allegedly infringing the patent through automobiles with a sound system including the Infiniti Q50.

Affinity Labs is seeking injunctive relief, compensatory damages, interest, treble damages for willful infringement, attorneys’ fees, costs and other relief deemed just and proper. A jury trial is demanded.

Lawrence L. Germer and Charles Goehringer Jr. of Germer PLLC in Beaumont and Ronald Schutz, Cyrus Morton, Daniel Burgess, Shira Shapiro and Kristine TIetz of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP in Minneapolis, Minn., are representing the plaintiff.

 

Oct. 10

PanTaurus LLC v AdKnowledge Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00511

PanTaurus LLC v Adobe Systems Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00512

PanTaurus LLC v Ancestry.com Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00513

PanTaurus LLC v AOL.com Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00514

PanTaurus LLC v Etsy Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00515

PanTaurus LLC v Kayak Software Corp. Case No. 1:14-cv-00516

PanTaurus LLC v OPower Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00517

PanTaurus LLC v Rovi Corp. Case No. 1:14-cv-00518

PanTaurus LLC v Sling Media Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00519

PanTaurus LLC v Telenav Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00519

PanTaurus LLC v The Boeing Co. Case No. 1:14-cv-00520

PanTaurus LLC v The Rubicon Project Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00521

PanTaurus LLC v U.S. Xpress Enterprises Inc. Case No. 1:14-cv-00522

Plaintiff PanTaurus is a Texas limited liability company with its principal place of business in Beaumont.

The defendants are accused of infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,272,533 for a Secure Computer System and Method of Providing Secure Access to a Computer System including a Stand Alone Switch Operable to Inhibit Data Corruption on a Storage Device.

According to the suits, the ‘533 Patent is a prominent, pioneering patent in the field of computer security. This is evidenced in part by the extent to which the ‘533 Patent has been forward-cited as prior art in connection with the examination of subsequently-issued U.S. patents. The ‘533 Patent has been forward-cited in more than 130 subsequently-issued U.S. patents to date, including patents originally assigned to such prominent companies as Intel (94 times), Dot Hill Systems (12 times), IBM, Nikon, Dell, Seagate, Lenovo, McAfee, Hewlett Packard, Lockheed Martin and STMicroelectronics.

Defendants allegedly infringe the ‘533 Patent through making and using secure computer systems comprising one or more Hadoop-compatible file systems. A Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) includes computer hardware (e.g. servers and memory) and computer software for performing program functions including buses, processors, a data storage device and a switch.

According to the complaints, defendants’ actions are causing irreparable harm and monetary damage to PanTaurus.

The plaintiff is seeking compensatory damages or a running royalty, interest, costs, attorneys’ fees and other relief under law or equity. A jury trial is demanded.

The plaintiff is represented by Craig Tadlock of the Tadlock Law Firm PLLC in Plano.

The cases have been assigned to District Judge Ron Clark.