$2,000 for Mila image processing patent prior art

Unified Patents added a new PATROLL contest, with a $2,000 cash prize, seeking prior art on at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent 7,924,296, owned and asserted by Mila US Inc., an NPE. The '296 patent relates to a hardware image-processing/display system that combines multiple image streams with low memory use, low power, and low latency. It has been asserted against NVIDIA.

The contest will expire on August 15, 2026. Please visit PATROLL for more information and to submit an entry for the contest. PATROLL researchers are required to use Pearl to generate claim charts. Submitted invalidity charts must address every limitation of the challenged claim. This may require using more than one prior art reference. Each PATROLL researcher can generate up to 30 invalidity claim charts per month using Pearl. These charts can be downloaded then submitted to PATROLL.

AutoConnect Holdings vehicle network patent challenge granted

On July 13, 2026, two months after Unified filed an ex parte reexamination, the Central Reexamination Unit (CRU) granted Unified’s request, finding substantial new questions of patentability on all challenged claims of U.S. Patent 9,290,153, owned and asserted by AutoConnect Holdings LLC, an NPE. The ‘153 patent relates to device discovery methods and systems for controlling access of a communication device to an on-board vehicle network. It has been asserted against GM, Toyota, and Ford.

View district court litigations by AutoConnect. Unified is represented by Steve Shipe of Barnes & Thornburg, and by in-house counsel, TJ Murphy and Jenn Bisk, in this proceeding.

To view the reexamination request, visit Unified’s Portal: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/exparte/90016182

$2,000 awarded for AIIA 3D imaging patent prior art

Unified is pleased to announce PATROLL crowdsourcing contest winners, Umesh Kumar and Guddu Yadav, who split an award of $2,000 for their prior art submissions on claim 17 of U.S. Patent 10,979,693, owned by the Artificial Intelligence Imaging Association Inc., an NPE and entity of R. Hewen & Co., LLC. The '693 patent relates to a stereoscopic imaging device for capturing 3D images and video with a wide field of view. The disclosed system is designed to support virtual reality use by immersing a user in a simulated environment created from the captured 3D content. The patent has been in a complaint seeking declaratory judgments of noninfringement, invalidity, and unenforceability filed by Plus One Robotics.

We would also like to thank the dozens of other high-quality submissions that were made on this patent. The ongoing contests are open to anyone, and include tens of thousands of dollars in rewards available for helping the industry to challenge NPE patents of questionable validity by finding and submitting prior art in the contests. Visit PATROLL today to learn more about how to participate.

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Malikie cryptography patent challenged

On July 9, 2026, Unified filed an ex parte reexamination proceeding against U.S. Patent 7,372,960, owned by Malikie Innovations Limited, an NPE and entity of Key Patent Innovations Limited. The ‘960 patent relates to finite field calculations in cryptography. The patent has been asserted against Core Scientific, Foundry Digital, and MARA Holdings. Malikie Innovations has filed several other litigations funded by Key Patent Innovations Limited against networking communications, apps, and Wi-Fi devices.

View district court litigations by Malikie. Unified is represented by Jordan Rossen, Kelly Hughes, and Jenn Bisk in this proceeding.