BlackBerry Accused of Violating Media Patent

Case Summary:

Texas-based patent holding company, Affinity Labs filed suit against Blackberry, formerly known as Research in Motion accusing them of infringing an U.S patent disclosing the ability to download music and playlists from an online store or stream internet radio to a portable electronic device and then connect it to a second device. The patent suit was filed in Northern District of California in Jul 07, 2014 and Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers is the judge assigned to this case.

Patent-in-Suit:

The patent at issue is: US8532641 entitled ‘System and method for managing media,’ issued on Sep 10, 2013 and expiring[i] by Sep 23, 2024. Affinity Labs is owner and holds legal right to the ‘641 patent. The disclosed embodiments of the ‘641 patent allow a radio listener to create a personal playlist and to listen to the playlist in a wireless atmosphere.

As in Complaint:

Affinity Labs was co-founded by an inventor, Mr. White in 2008, who filed the parent 09/537,812 application that the ‘612 patent claims priority to, before iPod was released and 3 years before the iTunes Store sold its first song. Other patents in the ’641 patent family have been cited by major corporations such as Apple, AT&T, Toyota, Google, Nokia, Bose, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Volkswagen, etc.

Affinity Labs alleged that Blackberry infringed by manufacturing, marketing and using Blackberry smartphones including Blackberry Z10 the audio systems and methods claimed in the ’641 patent. Blackberry’s smartphones have the ability to connect to a separate electronic device having a screen through use of wireless communication module, allowing a user to select songs stored on the smartphone for playback via that separate electronic device.

The complaint sought royalty bearing compulsory license and award damages in an amount adequate to compensate Affinity Labs for Blackberry’s infringement of the ’641 patent and that the damages be trebled.

Other Cases by Affinity Labs:

Affinity Labs has filed more than 30 cases against companies alleging infringement on its audio and media patents.

See 4:14-cv-03031 for more details. To get alerts on cases filed/closed, subscribe to our Litigation Alerts.

Max-Insight enables you to access all of our patent tools such as Patent Term Estimator, Patent Family Tree, Has This Patent Been Litigated, etc. in one location. Max-Insight is available in 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

---

[i] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.

Blackberry Ends Patent Dispute over Smart Dialing Feature

Case Filed: Dec 9, 2013

Case Closed: Jun 17, 2014

Court: Western: District of Texas

Judge: Ed Kinkeade

Case Summary:

John L. Breckenridge, an inventor filed a case against Blackberry Corporation (Blackberry), a provider of wireless handheld devices and services accusing them of infringing a US patent related to a method for automatically dialing an area code.

Patent in Suit:

The patent involved in the suit is:

Patent Number	Title	Issue Date	Expiration Date[i]
US8374335	Method and system for an intelligent telephone prefix dialer	Feb 12, 2013	Sep 25, 2026

The ‘335 patent relates to a method and system for appending a caller initiated dial sequence with a caller defined default prefix, in order to form a complete telephone number dialed over a telephone network to connect to a called party and for selectively activating the method and system.

As in Complaint:

Breckenridge alleged that Blackberry directly and indirectly infringed the ‘335 patent without permission or authority. The suit concerned Blackberry’s infringement of including smart dialing feature in mobile phones, that are specifically designed to perform a dialing method for completing calls using a default area code to connect to a called party over a phone network as claimed in the '335 patent.

Smart dialing is a built-in capability that can be configured to complete calls using a default area code set by the user and this feature is used in Blackberry’s products such as Blackberry Z10, Q10, Curve and Blackberry Bold 9700, the complaint said.

Plaintiff also added that Blackberry’s foregoing acts of infringement were willful and deliberate. The complaint mentioned that plaintiff was irreparably and monetarily harmed and requested Court to enjoin the infringement activities.

District Court Judgment:

Plaintiff John L. Breckenridge and defendant Blackberry filed joint stipulation for dismissal Court ordered dismissal with prejudice of all claims and counterclaims asserted by the other party with all costs and fees incurred by the respective parties. Court also retained the jurisdiction to enforce the parties on the license and settlement agreement.

See 3:13-cv-04787 for more details. To get alerts on cases filed/closed, subscribe to our Litigation Alerts.

Max-Insight enables you to access all of our patent tools such as Patent Term Estimator, Patent Family Tree, Has This Patent Been Litigated, etc. in one location. Max-Insight is available in 4 different subscriptions: Free, Bronze, Silver and Gold with varying usage levels. To learn more about Max-Insight, click here.

---

[i] Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents.

RIM Settles Case over Touchscreen Patents

Case Filed: Apr 11, 2012

Case Closed: Jun 24, 2013

Court: Texas Eastern District Court 

Judge: Michael H. Schneider

Case Summary

A patent infringement case was filed by Touchscreen Gestures against RIM claiming that the latter have violated four patents related to providing functionality through a host of smartphone gestures including dragging, tapping on a display and scrolling. The patents involved are as follows:

• US7180506 - Method for identifying a movement of single tap on a touch device, issued on Feb 20, 2007
• US7184031 - Method and controller for identifying a drag gesture, issued on Feb 27, 2007
• US7190356 - Method and controller for identifying double tap gestures, issued on Mar 13, 2007
• US7319457 - Method of scrolling window screen by means of controlling electronic device, issued on Jan 15, 2008 

The ‘506, ‘356 and ‘457 patents expire* on Feb 12, 2024 and ‘031 patent expires on Jul 06, 2024. These patents are currently assigned+ to Touchscreen Gestures (source: MaxVal’s Assignment Database). The patents were originally issued to Sentelic Corporation, a Taiwan based company, manufacturing products including touch screens, touch pads, and touch buttons for applications in electronic devices.

The accused products were Blackberry Torch and Storm2 smartphones as well as the RIM Blackberry Playbook, which allow the identification of drag, tap and scroll gestures via methods, controllers and gestures units as infringing claims of the ‘031, ‘506, ‘356 and ‘457 patents. The complaint sought permanent injunction, money damages and associated attorney’s fees. 

It is likely that the parties have settled the case out of court. A joint motion to dismiss the case was filed by RIM and upon consideration, Court signed off on the final judgment ordering all claims and counterclaims to be dismissed with prejudice. 

See 6:12-cv-00263 for more details. To get alerts on cases filed/closed, subscribe to our Litigation Alerts.

---

* Expected expiration date. Patent Term Estimator is a free web-based tool that automatically calculates patent terms and expiration dates for U.S. utility patents

+ MaxVal offers Patent Assignment Alert service where subscribers receive email alerts when assignments relating to target applications, patents or entities of interest are recorded.