Amicus filed in Dragon IP Fed. Cir. Appeal, Supporting en banc Review of Attorneys Fees

On August 19, 2024, Unified filed an amicus brief in support of an en banc review of a decision that insulates the attorneys and funders who control shell companies that file objectively baseless cases from § 285 fees. The brief also recommends review of the panel's holding that precludes district court judges from rewarding fees related to inter partes review proceedings in exceptional cases, even when those proceedings resolve a related district court case.

Unified Patents is represented by William G. Jenks of Jenks IP Law, and by in-house counsel, Jonathan Stroud and Michelle Aspen. Download the amicus brief below.

Fintiv challenged in Federal Circuit Amicus by Unified and Zero Motorcycles

On August 12, 2024, Unified Edge filed an amicus brief with the Federal Circuit addressing whether the USPTO's implementation of Fintiv as a precedential matter violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The brief explains why the USPTO has not only failed to follow the APA’s required rulemaking procedure but also has promulgated the Fintiv factors in the absence of any ambiguity under 35 U.S.C. §§ 314(a) and 315(b). 

Unified Edge is part of the Unified Network and advocates for the right policies, focusing on researching, organizing, providing, and promoting data-backed studies and evidence to further regulatory, business, and policy goals. Unified Edge works to keep its members up to date and informed on ongoing policies, data, and the regulatory landscape in order to move the law forward in a just, reasoned, and data-backed way. Unified Edge is represented by Mark Davies, Amanda Woodall, and Yar Chaikovsky at White & Case, and by in-house counsel, Michelle Aspen and Jonathan Stroud. Download the amicus brief below.

Voice Tech open source patent affirmed invalid by Federal Circuit

On August 1, 2024, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Office's final decision confirming that all claims (1-8) of U.S. Patent 10,491,679 were unpatentable. Owned and asserted by Voice Tech Corp, the ’679 patent relates to voice-activated computing. The patent was asserted against Linux-based technology from Mycroft AI for using open source, voice-related features. This invalid patent has been blamed for the closure of Mycroft AI.

View district court litigation by Voice Tech Corp. To read the petition and view the case record, see Unified's Portal. Unified was represented by in-house counsel, Jordan Rossen, Roshan Mansinghani, and Michelle Aspen, in this proceeding. Adam Erickson from Haynes and Boone handled the argument on appeal.

Express Mobile website software patent affirmed invalid by Federal Circuit

On May 29, 2024, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Office's final decision confirming that claim 1 of U.S. Patent 6,546,397 were unpatentable. Owned and asserted by Express Mobile, Inc., a well-known NPE, the ’397 patent generally relates to website building software. Express Mobile has asserted this patent over 100 times in district court against companies employing both proprietary website-building platforms and open-source platforms like WordPress and Magento. Its numerous complaints have included assertions against companies large and small, including eGrove Systems, Shopify, Web.com Group, Inc., Squarespace, and HubSpot.

View district court litigations by Express Mobile. Read the request below. Unified is represented by Abed Balbaky and Scott McKeown, and by in-house counsel, Michelle Aspen and Jonathan Stroud, in this proceeding.

To view the reexamination request, visit Unified’s Portal: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/exparte/90014615

Unified Files Amicus in Roku Fed.Cir. appeal from the ITC, Supporting Stronger Domestic Industry Requirement

On March 18, 2024, Unified filed an amicus brief in support of Roku's petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Roku v. ITC on the issue of relaxed enforcement of the economic domestic industry requirement in ITC cases. In the brief, Unified explores the trends of NPE activity at the ITC, where exclusion orders can and have been used to extract larger settlements than would be available in district courts due to this relaxed enforcement of domestic industry. Unified accordingly requests the Court clarify how the domestic industry requirement is analyzed, and argues it should be done in a manner consistent with the ITC's purpose of protecting unfair trade, and consistent with statutory language.

Unified Patents is represented by in-house counsel, David Seastrunk, Michelle Aspen, and Jonathan Stroud. Download the amicus brief below.