Monetization Firms, Familiar Assertion Professionals, and Inventors Hit E-Commerce and Software in Q3

The top market sector for NPE litigation in Q3 2023 was E-Commerce and Software, accounting for 34% of new defendants added to patent litigation campaigns. Consumer Electronics and PCs saw the second highest amount of NPE litigation in the third quarter, followed by Networking, Mobile Communications and Devices, and Consumer Products.

A wide variety of plaintiffs hit this sector throughout the third quarter, including several linked to patent monetization firms. Among them was SitNet LLC, an entity formed by the principal of CAsE Analysis, which in late July launched its first campaign over social networking technologies—including crisis communications services, targeted advertisement services, and underlying software architecture for such advertising—with the backing of a well-known litigation funder. Additionally, two plaintiffs controlled by Equitable IP Corporation added cases to existing campaigns in Q3: Scale Video Coding LLC filed a new complaint in early September targeting teleconference products that support the H.264 video codec and related scalable video coding (SVC) technology, while Communication Interface Technologies, LLC brought a host of new cases in August against companies offering push notification features in their respective mobile apps. Other monetization firms hitting this sector in Q3 were Ortiz & Lopez, PLLC (d/b/a OL PATENTS), which through associated plaintiff FlickIntelligence, LLC filed a new trio of complaints in its ongoing augmented reality campaign in early September; and the once-prolific Empire IP LLC, which through Nearby Systems LLC added a pair of suits to its ongoing location-based mapping campaign in late August.

Also joining the fray were a variety of plaintiffs associated with notable individuals active in the patent assertion space. One was OptiMorphix, Inc., which in late September kicked off a campaign asserting former Citrix patents against products related to cloud infrastructure and web search (and added more cases in October and November). The plaintiff is controlled by an individual linked to multiple other litigating NPEs, including DIFF Scale Operation Research, LLC; Dynamic Data Technologies, LLC; Castlemorton Wireless, LLC; and, most recently, NexGen Control Systems LLC. Two other NPEs starting their first campaigns were Accessify, LLC and ThinkLogix, LLC, both of which are controlled by an entity formed by two former Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) alums. The two plaintiffs have asserted patents from a larger portfolio divested by IV in February 2023; Accessify’s litigation (which has since included additional filings in October) alleges infringement through the provision of technology related to purchasing and accessing digital content on a website, while ThinkLogix has focused on a wide array of products, ranging from multicamera systems to smart home solutions. Also hitting this sector in the third quarter were multiple NPEs apparently associated with another familiar figure in patent monetization—a former inventor who in recent years has shifted to the assertion of patents acquired from others. Those plaintiffs include GeoSymm Ventures LLC, which filed its first litigation over augmented reality (AR) technology in mid-July; Scancomm LLC, which filed two more complaints targeting social networking apps in late August; Attestwave LLC, which filed litigation over products with trusted software validation and execution features in late July; and RecepTrexx LLC, which added another lawsuit to its ongoing voice assistant campaign in mid-July (plus two more in November).

Still other NPEs zeroing in on E-Commerce and Software products in Q3 were a variety of inventor-controlled plaintiffs—including Anonymous Media Research Holdings LLC, which brought its first litigation in August over “automatic content recognition” technology for use in targeted advertising. Also launching a new campaign was RavenWhite Licensing LLC; its litigation over web tracking technologies (e.g., beacons, cookies, and pixels) and online advertising systems marked the fifth campaign to assert patents by the same inventor, following Security Technology LLC; Crypto Research, LLC; ZapFraud, Inc.; RightQuestion LLC; and Carbyne Biometrics, LLC, in that order, starting in 2013. Another inventor-controlled NPE, Gatekeeper Solutions, Inc., initiated an electronic communications campaign in late July, its complaints filed by an attorney linked to numerous file-and-settle NPEs who has recently been hit with a sanctions motion for repeated failures to correct pleading deficiencies, among other controversies. Several other inventor-led plaintiffs also filed additional litigation in existing campaigns, including ENOVSYS LLC, which revived its sole campaign with a suit targeting location-tracking services used for ride-sharing services in early September (bringing a second case in October); and Virtual Creative Artists, LLC, which filed new complaints in its social media campaign in late July and mid-September (followed by an additional stream of complaints in October and November). In addition, September saw a second suit from individual inventor Sholem Weisner, who asserts three location history patents related to another four that were invalidated under Alice in his first case—two of which were later revived by the Federal Circuit.

See RPX’s third-quarter review for more on the key trends that have shaped patent litigation so far this year.