WacoWatch

Judge Albright denies Defendant’s Motion to Strike Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint, finding that the procedure outlined in the Order Governing Proceedings allowed for the amendment.

On September 18, 2024, Judge Albright found four Volvo dealerships do not constitute regular and established places of business for two Volvo defendants and transferred a patent infringement case against them to the District of New Jersey on the grounds that the Western District of Texas (W.D. Tex.) is an improper venue.

On May 19, 2023, a Waco jury found that Dropbox did not infringe any of the patent claims asserted by Motion Offense, LLC.

Defendant Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft) filed a motion for summary judgment of no remedy, which Judge Pitman granted on August 15, 2024, resulting in final judgment on all claims in favor of Microsoft.

Defendant Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) filed an opposed motion to transfer venue to the Northern District of California (NDCA). On August 7, 2024, Judge Albright denied Meta’s motion to transfer, finding Meta had failed to establish NDCA as a clearly more convenient forum to resolve the dispute.

Defendant Tableau Software, LLC (Tableau) filed an opposed motion to transfer venue to the Northern District of California. On May 21, 2024, Judge Pitman granted Tableau’s motion and transferred the proceeding between Tableau and iCharts LLC.

On May 20, 2024, Judge Albright issued an order granting Micron Technology, Inc.’s (Micron) request to amend its invalidity contentions “to include U.S. Patent No. 7,397,713; U.S. Patent No. 7,174,440; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0110343 as secondary references . . . to address [Sonrai Memory Limited’s (Sonrai)] new infringement theory” in Sonrai Memory Ltd. & Nera Innovations Ltd. v. Micron Technology, Inc., 1:23-cv-01407-ADA (W.D. Tex. May 20, 2024).

Judge Prost of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit   reversed and remanded an order by Judge Albright, finding Intellectual Tech LLC (IT) has constitutional standing in Intellectual Tech LLC v. Zebra Technologies Corp., No. 6:19-cv-628, 2022 WL 1608014. Judge Prost’s decision regarded the question of whether IT demonstrated the irreducible constitutional minimum of an injury in fact. Intell. Tech LLC v. Zebra Techs. Corp., No. 22-2207, Dkt. 48 (Fed. Cir. May 1, 2024) at 9.

Defendants Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) and Robert Bosch GmbH (Bosch) (collectively, defendants) filed an opposed motion to stay the district court litigation pending ex parte reexamination of all asserted claims of the U.S. Patent No. 7,502,958 (the’958 Patent) and inter partes review of 10 out of the 25 claims of the ’958 Patent. 

Google petitioned the Federal Circuit for a writ of mandamus, requesting that the Federal Circuit direct the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas to vacate its order denying Google’s motion to transfer and transfer to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

The license defense Intel is using involves a contract Intel entered into with Finjan in 2012. Under that contract, Intel purchased from Finjan a license to patents owned and controlled by Finjan and its affiliates, including affiliates it might acquire later. 

Judge Albright issued a new Order Governing Proceedings on January 23, 2024.

VLSI Technology, LLC sued Intel Corporation in the Western District of Texas for infringement of two patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,523,373 (’373) and 7,725,759 (’759). A jury trial in February and March 2021 found infringement of both patents and awarded separate lump-sum damages for each patent—$1.5 billion for the ’373 patent and $675 million for the ’759 patent. 

On November 6, 2023, Judge Albright denied Defendants Amazon Services LLC and eero LLC’s Motion to Dismiss for Improper Venue and to Transfer Venue to the Northern District of California.

On October 19, 2023, the Federal Circuit denied Sony’s petition to transfer a case from the Western District of Texas to the Northern District of California.

Rafqa Star, LLC v. Google, Inc., 6:22-cv-01207-ADA (W.D. Tex. 2023) is a case brought by Plaintiff Rafqa Star, LLC (Rafqa) alleging that Defendant Google LLC’s (Google) Navigate with Live View feature of Google Maps, along with “associated hardware and/or software” that “work in conjunction with” the Navigate with Live View feature of Google Maps, infringe U.S. Patent No. 11,145,215 (’215 Patent).

On September 19, 2023, Judge Albright issued a discovery dispute order ordering Plaintiff Viasat Inc. (Viasat) to produce “documents and information sufficient to identify which of its products were sold or offered for sale in the United States that incorporate flash memory, and the dates that Viasat sold or offered for sale such products, and identify the flash memory product incorporated in each of such products.”

On July 18, 2022, Ice Rover, Inc. (Plaintiff) filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Brumate, Inc. (Defendant) in the Western District of Texas, Waco Division. Defendant filed a 12(b)(3) motion to dismiss the lawsuit for improper venue or, in the alternative, to transfer venue pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1406 “in the interest of justice” to Colorado because it is a “district or division in which it could have been brought.”

On August 24, 2023, a jury in the Western District of Texas, Waco Division with Judge Albright presiding, found for defendant U.S. Well Services, LLC. The verdict found U.S. Well Services’ Clean Fleet electric hydraulic fracturing fleets did not infringe three asserted patents.

It is common practice for parties in patent litigation to bring joint motions to stay to finalize terms of settlement when they have reached settlement in principle.