Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. New York Times Co.

965 F. Supp. 2d 971, 2013 WL 4401378, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114566
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 14, 2013
DocketCase Nos. 10-cv-4387, 11-cv-7395, 11-cv-7607, 11-cv-7647, 11-cv-9143
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 965 F. Supp. 2d 971 (Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. New York Times Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. New York Times Co., 965 F. Supp. 2d 971, 2013 WL 4401378, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114566 (N.D. Ill. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN W. DARRAH, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC (“HPL”), filed suit against Defendants, The New York Times Company (“NYT”); G4 Media, LLC (“G4”); CBS Corporation (“CBS”); Bravo Media, LLC (“Bravo”); and J.C. Penney Corporation, Inc. (“J.C. Penney”), alleging claims of patent infringement. The parties filed cross-motions for summary judgment on the issue of patent exhaustion, which have been fully briefed. Defendants jointly move for summary judgment on the basis that the patents asserted by HPL are exhausted as to HPL’s infringement claims; HPL concurrently moves for summary judgment on the basis that Defendants are not entitled to the defense of patent exhaustion.

BACKGROUND

HPL holds a large portfolio of patents; it enforces its patent rights with licensing or through litigation. The patents at issue relate to the methods and systems that send and receive hyperlinks to websites to an electronic device, such as a cellular phone. Using Short Message Service (“SMS”) or Multimedia Messaging Service (“MMS”) protocols, a cell phone can receive a link to a website from a content provider. A cell phone user can then click on the link sent to the phone to retrieve the content found at a website.

HPL has licensed this technology to cell phone manufacturers, so that any handheld device sold can receive such content without being accused of infringing HPL’s patents. Many content providers have also entered into license agreements with HPL, so that they may send their content to a cell phone. Defendants in this case did not enter into license agreements with HPL. Instead, Defendants contend that the patents at issue are exhausted, based on HPL’s licensing agreements with cell phone and handset manufacturers.

The parties have submitted statements of material facts pursuant to Local Rule 56.1.1 The following facts are taken from the parties’ statements of undisputed material facts submitted in accordance with Local Rule 56.1.2,3 HPL is a limited liabili[974]*974ty company, organized under the laws of the state of Illinois, with its principal place of business in Phoenix, Arizona. (Pl.’s SOF ¶ 2.) FIPL holds a patent portfolio which includes more than fifty patents, including the patents-at-issue, relating to mobile communication devices and the provision of media and content to such devices. (Pl.’s SOF ¶ 2.) FIPL is the exclusive licensee of the patents-in-suit. (Defs.’ SOF ¶ 7.)

NYT is a New York corporation and Bravo is a New York limited liability company, both with their principal places of business in New York, New York. (Defs.’ SOF ¶¶ 2, 5; Pl.’s SOF ¶¶ 8, 6.) CBS and J.C. Penney are both Delaware corporations, with principal places of business in New York, New York, and Plano, Texas, respectively. (Defs.’ SOF ¶¶4, 6; PL’s SOF ¶¶ 5, 7.) G4 is a Delaware limited liability company, with its principal place of business in Los Angeles, California. (Defs.’ SOF ¶ 3; PL’s SOF ¶4.) Subject-matter jurisdiction exists pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338(a) and 2202, and venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b) and 1400(b). (Defs.’ SOF ¶¶ 8-9; PL’s SOF ¶¶ 8-9.)

There are six patents-in-suit: U.S. Patent No. 7,280,838, issued on October 9, 2007; U.S. Patent No. 7,499,716, issued on March 3, 2009; U.S. Patent No. 7,835,757, issued on November 16, 2010; U.S. Patent No. 8,107,601, issued on January 31, 2012; U.S. Patent No. 8,116,741, issued on February 14, 2012; and U.S. Patent No. 8,134,450, issued on March 13, 2012. (Third Am. Compl. ¶¶ 6-11.)

The entire cellular handset manufacturing industry has acquired licenses under the FIPL portfolio. (Defs.’ SOF ¶11.) All the licenses at issue here provide for certain releases (subject to some limitations); the licenses to each handset manufacturer generally provide that:

HPL hereby releases, acquits and discharges Licensee’s respective direct and indirect past, present and future customers, retailers, wholesalers, distributors, dealers, resellers, users, OEMs, vendors and manufacturers from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and rights of action of any kind of nature, at law, in equity, or otherwise, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, relating to any infringement or alleged infringement of any of the Licensed Patents and Applications (whether direct, contributory or by inducement, and whether or not willful), but only to the extent that such claim, demand, liability or right of action arises from the manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale, import or export by or for Licensee of a product within the Licensed Fields.

(Defs.’ SOF ¶ 12; Defs.’ SOF Ex. BB § 2(b).) HPL’s license agreements also have provisions relating to a “Covenant Not to Sue,” which provides that, subject to exceptions:

HPL hereby covenants and agrees with Licensee that neither HPL nor any person or entity directly or indirectly controlled by it or claiming through it will bring suit or otherwise assert any claim or cause of action ... against a Third Party (including, without limitation, Wireless Service Providers, Wireless [975]*975Service Message Providers, Wireless Content Providers and Consumers) for an infringement claim that is dependent upon such Third Party making, importing, exporting, selling or offering for sale to Consumers a Mobile Wireless Communication Device within the scope of the Licensed Fields....

(Defs.’ SOF ¶ 13; Defs.’ SOF Ex. BB § 3(b) (emphasis added and to be discussed further, below.) One Licensed Field includes “Mobile Wireless Communication Devices that are made, used, imported, offered for sale, sold or otherwise disposed of by Licensee, anywhere in the world.” (Pl.’s SOF ¶ 57.) Another Licensed Field, incorporated in some of the license agreements, includes “Mobile Wireless Content Provision carried out by or for Licensee.” (Defs.’ SOF Ex. B § lg(l).) Some of these license agreements indicate that the “licensed patents and applications” at issue include:

[A]ll the patents and applications owned or controlled by, or exclusively licensed to, HPL including but not limited to those identified on Exhibit A, including any continuations, continuations-in-part, divisional, extension, reissues, or reexaminations thereof, renewals and extensions thereof, any patent or application to which those listed in Exhibit A claim priority, in whole or in part, and any foreign counterparts claiming priority or issuing from any of the above.

(Defs.’ Add’l. SOF ¶ 14; Defs.’ Ex. B at § 1(h).) However, some of the license agreements also specifically withhold certain claims against third parties. These license agreements attach a separate exhibit, separately identify claims from HPL’s patents that are not covered by the license agreement and, therefore, in HPL’s view, reserving its rights to enforce these specific claims against other parties.

In U.S. Patent No.

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Related

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778 F.3d 1293 (Federal Circuit, 2015)
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Bluebook (online)
965 F. Supp. 2d 971, 2013 WL 4401378, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 114566, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/helferich-patent-licensing-llc-v-new-york-times-co-ilnd-2013.