Browse 3D patent challenged as likely invalid

On July 3, 2019, Unified filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against US Patent 10,031,897, owned by Browse 3D, LLC, an NPE. The ‘897 patent, generally directed to a method for providing website recommendations by monitoring a user’s selection of hyperlinks within a current web page, has been asserted against various retailers such as Nordstrom, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Carter’s.

View Browse 3D’s district court litigation here. Jessica Marks and Roshan Mansinghani are representing Unified in this proceeding. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified's Portal.

Varatec, LLC patent challenged as likely unpatentable

On July 3, 2019, Unified filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against US Patent 7,792,256, owned by Varatec, LLC, an NPE. The ‘256 patent, directed to “a system and method for remotely monitoring, controlling, and managing equipment at one or more premises,” has been asserted against Comcast and ADT, among others.

View Varatec’s district court litigation here. Jung Hahm and Ashraf Fawzy are representing Unified in this proceeding. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified's Portal.

Speakware patent determined to be likely unpatentable

On July 1, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all challenged claims in an IPR filed by Unified against U.S. Patent 6,397,186, owned and asserted by Speakware Inc., an NPE. The ’186 patent, directed to a voice-operated remote control transmitter that activates and operates remote appliances, has been asserted against Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Samsung Electronics.

Unified is represented by Scott McKeown at Ropes and Gray LLP in this proceeding. View SpeakWare’s district court litigation here. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see our PTAB Portal.

Contemporary Display patent challenged as likely invalid

On June 28, 2019, Unified, represented by White & Case, filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) against US Patent 8,863,219, owned by Contemporary Display, LLC, an IP Valuation Partners entity and well-known NPE. The ‘219 patent, directed to the well-known method of a television and its on-screen display menu, has been asserted against various television manufacturers and service providers including LG, Verizon, and Cox.

In addition, Unified is offering $4,000 in cash prizes for the best prior art submissions for three of Contemporary Display’s other patents, all generally directed toward similar TV guide systems. Click here for more information about these contests or visit PATROLL to learn more about Unified’s prior art crowdsourcing platform.

View Contemporary Display's district court litigation. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified's Portal.

Contemporary Display patents added to PATROLL

On July 1, 2019, Unified added 3 new PATROLL contests amounting to $4,000 in total prizes for prior art submissions regarding US 7,500,202, US 7,487,248, and US 6,445,398. The '202, ‘248, and ‘398 patents, generally directed to generating and displaying TV guide systems, are owned by Contemporary Display, LLC, a well-known NPE.

Unified previously filed an inter partes review challenging US 8,863,219 (another Contemporary Display patent), however these remaining patents continue to hamper true innovation. To protect innovation and deter future frivolous assertions, Unified is offering cash prizes for the best prior art on these patents.

The contests will expire on October 1, 2019. Please visit PATROLL for more information or to submit an entry for this contest.