Maz Encryption Techs., LLC v. Blackberry Ltd.

347 F. Supp. 3d 283
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedOctober 15, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 3:17-CV-03267-K
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 347 F. Supp. 3d 283 (Maz Encryption Techs., LLC v. Blackberry Ltd.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maz Encryption Techs., LLC v. Blackberry Ltd., 347 F. Supp. 3d 283 (N.D. Tex. 2018).

Opinion

ED KINKEADE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) (Doc. No. 24). After careful consideration of the parties' briefing on the motion, the relevant law, and the pleadings in the case, the Court GRANTS the Motion in part and DENIES the Motion in part.

*286A. Background

On December 1, 2017, the Plaintiff, MAZ Encryption Technologies, LLC ("MAZ") filed this suit against Defendants, Blackberry LTD. and Blackberry Corporation (collectively "Blackberry"). In its complaint, MAZ alleges that Blackberry has infringed at least claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 7,096,358 (the "'358 patent"). On, June 1, 2018, MAZ filed an Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement, in which MAZ again asserted that Blackberry has infringed the '358, but expanded MAZ's allegations of infringement to include claims 1, 4, 6, 7, 11, and 12.

On June 15, 2018, Blackberry filed the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6), in which Blackberry asserted that this action should be dismissed with prejudice because the patent infringement claims are barred by claim preclusion.

B. Blackberry's Motion To Dismiss

The Defendants assert that all of the causes of action brought against them by MAZ in this litigation are barred by claim preclusion because the causes of action should have been brought in previous litigation between the parties.

There have been two previous patent litigation cases between the parties. One of these cases was filed in the District of Delaware in 2013. This case was MAZ Encryption Technologies LLC v. Research in Motion Corporation , Case No. 1:13-CV-00304. The parties refer to this case as MAZ I. In MAZ I, MAZ asserted that the Defendants infringed U.S. Patent No. 6,185,681 (the "'681 patent").

While MAZ I was pending, MAZ file another patent infringement suit against the Defendants. This case was MAZ Encryption Technologies LLC v. Blackberry Ltd. and Blackberry Corporation , Case No. 6:15-CV-1167, which was filed in the Eastern District of Texas. The parties refer to this case as MAZ II. In MAZ II, MAZ asserted that the Defendants infringed U.S. Patent No. 9,203,626 ("the '626 patent"). MAZ II was eventually transferred to the District of Delaware, where MAZ I was still pending.

The parties resolved MAZ I and MAZ II by settlement of both cases. As part of this settlement, the parties filed stipulations in which they requested that the Delaware Court dismiss MAZ I and MAZ II with prejudice. The Delaware Court dismissed MAZ I and MAZ II with prejudice in response to the parties' request.

The issues in MAZ I and MAZ II overlapped because of the similarities between the asserted patents and the accused devices in the two cases. The asserted patents in MAZ I and MAZ II were not the same patents, but they are closely related patents. The patent in suit in MAZ I was the '681 patent. The patent in suit in MAZ II was the '626 patent. The '626 patent is related to the '681 patent by a series of continuation and continuation in part applications. MAZ I and MAZ II where also similar in that the accused devices in both cases were the same devices, which were the "Blackberry Enterprise Solution" and devices that operated this enterprise solution, like the Blackberry 10 series, Blackberry playbook. Defs.' Appx., Doc. No. 26 at 3, 12, 14, 18.

In the Motion, Blackberry argues that the patent infringement claims brought in this case as so close in nature to the claims and issues in both MAZ I and MAZ II that MAZ could have and should have brought these claims in either one of these lawsuits, and therefore these claims are barred by claim preclusion.

MAZ responds that the causes of action in this suit are not barred by claim preclusion because, through the terms and the *287effect of the MAZ I and MAZ II settlement agreement, Blackberry has waived the right to assert claim preclusion as a defense to the current lawsuit. MAZ also asserts that claim preclusion does not apply here because this suit involves infringement of the '358 patent, which was not asserted in either MAZ I or MAZ II and that claim preclusion does not apply to the causes of action in this case because the scope of the asserted patent claims in this case is materially different than the scope of the claims asserted in MAZ I and MAZ II. Finally, MAZ also asserts that, even if claim preclusion applies to the claims asserted in this case, claim preclusion only applies to MAZ's causes of action that occurred before the stipulation of dismissal of MAZ I and MAZ II.

C. Legal Standards

i. Motion to Dismiss

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a court may dismiss a complaint that fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. To state a claim upon which relief can be granted, a complaint "must provide the plaintiff's ground for entitlement to relief - including factual allegations that when assumed to be true raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Cuvillier v. Taylor , 503 F.3d 397, 401 (5th Cir. 2007). A court must consider both the facts alleged in a complaint and the documents attached to or incorporated into the complaint. Lovelace v. Software Spectrum, Inc. , 78 F.3d 1015, 1017 (5th Cir. 1996). Factual allegations must be taken as true. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). But, legal conclusions in the complaint are given no deference. Id. If the factual allegations, when taken as true, fail to show that the plaintiff is entitled to any relief, the 12(b)(6) motion should be granted. A court may also consider any facts of which the court has taken judicial notice. Funk v. Stryker Corp. , 631 F.3d 777, 783 (5th Cir. 2011).

ii. Claim Preclusion

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Bluebook (online)
347 F. Supp. 3d 283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maz-encryption-techs-llc-v-blackberry-ltd-txnd-2018.