ACQIS LLC v. Wistron Corporation

CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedJuly 12, 2022
Docket6:20-cv-00968
StatusUnknown

This text of ACQIS LLC v. Wistron Corporation (ACQIS LLC v. Wistron Corporation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
ACQIS LLC v. Wistron Corporation, (W.D. Tex. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS WACO DIVISION

ACQIS LLC, A TEXAS LIMITED § LIABILITY COMPANY; § § Plaintiff, § No. 6:20-CV-00968-ADA § v. § § WIWYNN CORPORATION, A § TAIWAN CORPORATION

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

Came on for consideration Defendant Wiwynn Corporation’s (“Defendant” or “Wiwynn”) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Claims for Direct, Indirect, and Willful Infringement, and Enhanced Damages (“the Motion”). ECF No. 22. Plaintiff ACQIS LLC (“Plaintiff” or “ACQIS”) filed a Stipulated Motion for Dismissal Without Prejudice, dropping its claims against Wistron Corporation without prejudice (ECF No. 28) and thereafter responded to the substance of the Motion (ECF No. 29). Wiwynn replied (ECF No. 30) and, in turn, ACQIS filed a sur-reply (ECF No. 31). After careful consideration of the Motions, the Parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, the Court DENIES Wiwynn’s Motion to Dismiss. I. BACKGROUND On October 15, 2020, ACQIS filed suit against Wiwynn and its parent company, Wistron Corporation (“Wistron”). ECF No. 1. In its Complaint (the “Complaint”), ACQIS accused Wiwynn and Wistron of infringing eight patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 9,529,768 (“the ’768 Patent”), 9,703,750 (“the ’750 Patent”), 8,977,797 (“the ’797 Patent”), 8,041,873 (“the ’873 Patent”), RE44,468 (“the ’468 Patent”), RE44,654 (“the ’654 Patent”), RE46,947 (“the ’947 Patent”), and 7,676,624 (“the ’624 Patent”) (collectively “the ACQIS Patents”). Id. at ¶ 2. The Complaint alleges that Wiwynn manufactures, uses, imports, and sells identified servers (“the Accused Servers”) (id. ¶ 44) that infringe the ACQIS Patents or induces third parties to engage in and/or contributes to third parties engaging in the same. Id. ¶ 3. After Wiwynn and Wistron filed this

Motion, ACQIS dismissed Wistron without prejudice. ECF No. 28. Given that dismissal of the direct infringement claims was based solely on what the Defendants deemed insufficient allegations regarding Wistron and Wistron has since been dismissed, Wiwynn’s objections to ACQIS’s direct infringement claims are now moot. See ECF No. 22 at 5–7. II. LEGAL STANDARD A. Pleading Standards A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted is “a purely procedural question not pertaining to patent law,” and so the law of the Fifth Circuit controls. McZeal v. Sprint Nextel Corp., 501 F.3d 1354,

1356 (Fed. Cir. 2007). When considering such motions, this Court “accepts all well-pleaded facts as true, views them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor.” Johnson v. BOKF Nat’l Ass’n, 15 F.4th 356, 361 (5th Cir. 2021). Rule 12(b)(6) requires that a complaint contain sufficient factual matter to “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). To meet this factual plausibility standard, the plaintiff must plead “factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged,” based on “more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Id. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. In resolving a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the question is “not whether [the plaintiff] will ultimately prevail, . . . but whether [the] complaint was sufficient to cross the federal court’s threshold.” Skinner v. Switzer, 562 U.S. 521, 530 (2011). “The court’s task is to determine whether the plaintiff has

stated a legally cognizable claim that is plausible, not to evaluate the plaintiff's likelihood of success.” Lone Star Fund V (U.S.), L.P. v. Barclays Bank PLC, 594 F.3d 383, 387 (5th Cir. 2010) (citing Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678). Thus, when addressing a motion to dismiss, the Court “accepts all well-pleaded facts as true, views them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff’s favor.” Johnson v. BOKF, 15 F.4th at 361. B. Willful Infringement Under Section 284 of the Patent Act, a court may increase damages for patent infringement “up to three times the amount found or assessed.” 35 U.S.C. § 284. A party seeking such “enhanced damages” must show that an infringer’s conduct has been “willful,” or “wanton,

malicious, bad-faith, deliberate, consciously wrongful, flagrant, or—indeed—characteristic of a pirate.” Halo Elecs., Inc. v. Pulse Elecs., Inc., 579 U.S. 93, 103–04 (2016). Enhanced damages should “generally be reserved for egregious cases typified by willful misconduct.” Id. at 106. To state a claim for relief for willful patent infringement, a plaintiff must allege facts plausibly showing that the accused infringer: “(1) knew of the patent-in-suit; (2) after acquiring that knowledge, it infringed the patent; and (3) in doing so, it knew, or should have known, that its conduct amounted to infringement of the patent.” Parity Networks, LLC v. Cisco Sys., Inc., No. 6:19-CV-00207-ADA, 2019 WL 3940952, at *3 (W.D. Tex. July 26, 2019) (quoting Välinge Innovation AB v. Halstead New England Corp., No. 16-1082-LPS-CJB, 2018 WL 2411218, at *13 (D. Del. May 29, 2018)). C. Induced Infringement Section 271(b) of the Patent Act provides that “[w]hoever actively induces infringement of a patent shall be liable as an infringer.” 35 U.S.C. § 271(b). To succeed on such a claim, the

patentee must show that the accused infringer (1) knowingly induced direct infringement and (2) possessed “specific intent” to induce that infringement. See MEMC Electr. Materials, Inc. v. Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corp., 420 F.3d 1369, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2005). Willful blindness can satisfy the knowledge requirement, Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. v. NuVasive, Inc., 824 F.3d 1344, 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2016), and circumstantial evidence may suffice to prove specific intent, MEMC, 420 F.3d at 1378. To state a claim for relief for induced patent infringement, “a complaint must plead facts plausibly showing that the accused infringer ‘specifically intended [another party] to infringe [the patent] and knew that the [other party]’s acts constituted infringement.’” Lifetime Indus.,

Inc. v. Trim-Lok, Inc., 869 F.3d 1372, 1376–77 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting In re Bill of Lading Transmission & Processing Sys. Pat. Litig., 681 F.3d 1323, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2012)). “[T]here can be no inducement or contributory infringement without an underlying act of direct infringement.” Joao Control & Monitoring Sys., LLC v. Protect Am., Inc., No. 1:14-cv-00134- LY, 2015 WL 3513151, at *3 (W.D. Tex. Mar. 24, 2015). “To state a claim for indirect infringement . . .

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Related

Lone Star Fund v (U.S.), L.P. v. Barclays Bank PLC
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Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
McZeal v. Sprint Nextel Corp.
501 F.3d 1354 (Federal Circuit, 2007)
Commil United States, LLC v. Cisco Sys., Inc.
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Warsaw Orthopedic, Inc. v. Nuvasive, Inc.
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Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc.
579 U.S. 93 (Supreme Court, 2016)
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Bluebook (online)
ACQIS LLC v. Wistron Corporation, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/acqis-llc-v-wistron-corporation-txwd-2022.