Patent Law Practice Center

Facebook Attack on Wireless Ink Patent Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of May 14, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Last Monday, Facebook requested reexamination of Wireless Ink’s U.S. Patent 8,135,801 which claims a system for enhancing accessibility to data over a network (see inter partes Request No. (1)).  The ‘801 patent is the subject of an infringement action between the companies in New York.  Notably, Facebook has filed this reexamination request before answering Wireless’s complaint in court.  Facebook – like Apple and Google – has been quick to resort to reexamination when sued for infringement.  Wireless has also accused Facebook of infringing two other patents – U.S. Patent Nos. 7,599,983 and 7,908,342 – in unrelated infringement actions.

For the most part, foreign companies have been slow to use reexamination as a tool for attacking U.S. patents owned by competitors.  An exception is Chinese companies, who seem to be quick studies when it comes to reexamination.  For instance, last week Zhejiang Trimone and Fujian Hongan filed a request against a circuit interrupter patent owned by Leviton (see inter partesRequest No. (4)).

Reexamination was also requested by CBS Interactive and a series of other media companies for two more wireless messaging patents owned by Helferich Patent Licensing (see inter partes Request Nos. (3) & (7)).  See last week’s post for other Helferich reexaminations.

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Kyocera Challenge to ADC Personal Communicator Patent Among the Reexamination Requests Filed the Week of May 7, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

This past Friday, Kyocera requested reexamination of an ADC Technology patent – U.S. Patent No. 6,985,136 – for a “personal communicator,” i.e., a portable computer for wireless data transmission (see inter partes Request No. (4)).  ADC is currently pursuing an infringement action against Kyocera in Illinois.  The ‘136 patent survived an earlier reexamination attempt, with the patentability of all claims confirmed.

Attack on Helferich Patent Licensing/Wireless Science Patent, Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of May 7, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

Helferich Patent Licensing has been extremely aggressive and extremely successful in asserting its portfolio of mobile wireless communications patents against the world’s media and retail giants. According to the patent search outfit M-CAM, Helferich has sued licensed 42 companies, including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, LG, Microsoft, Motorola, NEC, Nissan, Nokia, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba.

In a case filed in 2010, Helferich sued CBS for infringement of 21 patents.  This February, it obtained U.S. Patent No. 8,116,741, adding it to the CBS litigation and to six other infringement actions.  On Friday, CBS and the other defendants in those cases, requested reexamination of the ‘741 patent (see inter partes Request No. (1)).

This is by no means the first reexamination asserted against Helferich, who so far appears to have been quite adept at overcoming the prior art asserted against and adding numerous claims to its patents in reexamination.

Helferich holds an exclusive licensee to the patents in its portfolio, a license it obtained from Wireless Science.  Wireless states on web page that their “intellectual property portfolio contains numerous pending and issued domestic and international patents (over 1600 patent claims issued, allowed and pending) related to a variety of wireless and web-based messaging technologies.”

There was also an interesting reexamination request filed by Medtronic against an implantable valve prosthesis patent owned by Edwards Lifesciences (see ex parte Request No. (2)).  The two companies have been in a long-term struggle over this technology. (more…)

Challenges on Intellectual Ventures Computer Circuit Patents Among the Reexamination Requests Filed Week of April 23, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

An undisclosed party requested reexamination of two computer circuits patents owned by Intellectual Ventures (see ex parte Request Nos. (13) & (14)).  IV patents in this technology have come under attack by Xilinx in recent times, and it was quite possibly Xilinx that filed these requests. Incidentally, one of the IV patents was originally owned by LG Semicon and the other by Motorola.

Requests were also against four auto-navigation patents owned by Beacon Navigation (see ex parte Request Nos. (8) to (11)).  Beacon has sued quite a few auto-makers in Delaware for infringement of those patents, including Honda, Porsche, BMW and Ford.

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Bicycle Rental Station Patent, Subject of Reexamination Request Filed Week of April 16, 2012

Here is our latest weekly installment of Reexamination Requests from Scott Daniels, of Reexamination Alert and Practice Center Contributor…

If you live in Washington D.C. or in any of a number of other places, you have undoubtedly noticed the bicycle stations scattered across town: with a credit card you can rent a bicycle to ride around town and return it at your convenience to the same or another bicycle station.  Isabelle Bettez and Jean-Sebastien Bettez own a patent – U.S. Patent No. 7,898,439 – claiming a solar-powered station.

It is not yet evident from the Patent Office dockets who filed the request.

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