Portal Communications (Dominion Harbor) patent determined to be likely invalid

On July 25, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all claims in an IPR filed by Unified against US Patent 7,376,645, owned by Portal Communications, a Dominion Harbor subsidiary and well-known NPE. The ’645 patent, directed to systems that allow verbal natural language querying about items near the user, has been asserted against Apple, Microsoft, and SoundHound in district court.

Unified is represented by Ropes & Gray in this proceeding. View district court litigation for the ‘645 patent. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified’s Portal. 

SISVEL patent determined to be likely invalid

On July 24, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all challenged claims in an IPR filed by Unified against US Patent 7,734,680, owned by S.I.SV.EL. S.p.A., an NPE. The ’680 patent, directed to a recommendation engine that generates a user profile based on a user’s interests and suggests content based on similar user profiles, has been asserted against Spotify, Rhapsody, and Rakuten in district court. At the time of this decision, Spotify and Rhapsody are in active litigation.    

Unified is represented by Erise IP in this proceeding. View district court litigation for the ‘680 patent. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified’s Portal. 

Universal Cipher (formerly Cumberland Systems) patent determined to be likely invalid

On July 16, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all challenged claims in an IPR filed by Unified against US Patent 8,023,647, owned by Universal Cipher LLC, an NPE (f/k/a Cumberland Systems, a Brad Liddle entity). The ’647 patent, directed to encrypting of a password or other secret information, has been asserted in twenty-four district court cases, all of which have been terminated.    

Unified is represented by Ropes & Gray in this proceeding. View district court litigation for the ‘647 patent. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified’s Portal. 

Unified seeks two new patent attorneys to join its growing team

Unified Patents is once again growing its legal department, and seeks to add two experienced, registered patent attorneys. Applicants must have at least 5 years of law firm or other relevant experience before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) working on post-grant petitions (IPR, PGR, and CBM), reexaminations, or other administrative drafting and litigation experience.

Applicants should have a strong technical background and be willing to explore diverse new technologies; experience with video codecs, coding, cryptography, compression, signals, wireless communications, or other algorithmic subject matter is a plus. Patent examination experience is a plus; a registration number is a plus; clerking experience is a plus; familiarity with ongoing appellate issues affecting PTAB practice is a plus.

Click the button below for more information about these positions and for instructions on how to apply.

Now Accepting Entries for 2019 CIPSC Law Student Writing Competition

Unified and the Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal are pleased to present the CIPSC 2019 Law Student Writing Competition. Current law students and recent graduates are encouraged to submit articles addressing whether 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) permits appeal of the PTAB’s decision to institute an inter partes review upon finding that § 315(b)’s time bar did not apply. The first place winner will receive a $1,000 cash prize and may be invited to share his or her paper at the upcoming 2019 Corporate Intellectual Property Strategy Conference hosted by Unified and the Santa Clara High Technology Law Journal.

The deadline for entry is October 15, 2019. For more details and for directions on how to enter, click the button below.