Velos Media patent determined to be likely invalid

On September 3, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial in an IPR filed by Unified against all independent claims and several dependent claims of US Patent 8,964,849, owned by Velos Media, LLC. The ’849 patent, generally directed to techniques for video encoding and decoding, was originally assigned to Blackberry before being transferred to Velos in 2017.

Velos claims to have and seeks to license patents allegedly essential to the HEVC / H.265 standard (such as the ‘849 patent). Unified filed this challenge as part of its ongoing efforts in its SEP Video Codec Zone after independently determining that the allegedly standard essential ‘849 patent is likely unpatentable.

Unified is represented by David Cavanaugh and Theodoros Konstantakopoulos from Wilmer Hale in this proceeding. Visit Unified’s Portal for more information about its Video Codec landscape (OPAL) and standard submission repository (OPEN). To read the decision and review the case record, view IPR2019-00710 on the Portal.

Unified now accepting applications for legal interns

Unified Patents is a member-based organization that seeks to deter NPE litigation within its protected zones of technology. Unified accomplishes this goal by filing inter partes review proceedings (IPRs) challenging the validity of NPE-controlled patents. In addition, Unified provides a variety of patent and PTAB data to assist companies in making informed licensing and litigation decisions. Unified also makes this data available to the public for independent study or research.

Unified has two openings for paid, legal internship positions for assisting with its legal and database activities. No technical background is required, although experience with Excel and/or Google Sheets is preferred. Interns will assist with PTAB analytics and assist in prior art searches / drafting of IPR petitions.

Although the position offers flexibility and the option to work remotely, interns can use our San Jose office as well. For more information and instructions on how to apply, use the link below.

Ortiz & Associates patent determined to be likely invalid

On August 29, 2019, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted trial on all challenged claims in an IPR filed by Unified against U.S. Patent 8,971,914 owned and asserted by Ortiz & Associates Consulting, LLC, an NPE. The ‘914 patent, directed to controlling a multimedia video device to play video data through the operation of a wireless device, has been asserted against Google and Roku.

Unified is represented by David O’Dell, David McCombs, and Thomas Kelton at Haynes and Boone in this proceeding. View Ortiz & Associates' district court litigation here. To read the petition and view the entire case proceeding, see Unified's Portal.

Unified seeks sales professional for its growing SEP offerings

Unified is a private, subscription-based company that is disrupting the Standard Essential Patent (SEP) space. The team is looking for a passionate and self-starting individual (preferably with a law degree) to join the company in a senior role to continue our growth and help Unified enter new markets.

This professional will help guide Unified’s strategic direction and membership activities related to a range of SEP solutions that Unified has already developed or that are currently in development. They will identify potential markets, technologies, partners, and members and lead in achieving agreements with them.

The position requires an individual passionate about patent law and Intellectual Property. The ideal candidate will have a thorough knowledge of the above-stated industries and IP departments at those companies, as well as an awareness of general trends which affect these industries. They should already have worked with, interacted with, and/or sold to IP Departments of major high-tech corporations.

Unified provides competitive compensation and benefits as well as a flexible work environment. For more details about the position and instructions on how to apply, view the full job listing.

Parity Networks patent added to PATROLL

On August 26, 2019, Unified added a new PATROLL contest with a $2000 cash prize for prior art submissions for US 6,870,844. The '844 patent, directed to multicasting data packets within a router port, is owned by Parity Networks, LLC (a well-known NPE) and has been asserted in district court litigation. To protect innovation and deter future frivolous assertions, Unified is offering a $2,000 cash prize for the best prior art on this patent.

The contest will expire on November 26, 2019. Please visit PATROLL for more information or to submit an entry for this contest.