Regents of the University v. AT & T Mobility LLC

135 F. Supp. 3d 1000
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedSeptember 29, 2015
DocketCivil No. 14-4666 (JRT/TNL), Civil No. 14-4669 (JRT/TNL), Civil No. 14-4671 (JRT/TNL), Civil No. 14-4672 (JRT/ TNL)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 135 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (Regents of the University v. AT & T Mobility LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Regents of the University v. AT & T Mobility LLC, 135 F. Supp. 3d 1000 (mnd 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER ON MOTIONS TO . DISMISS

JOHN R. TUNHEIM, Chief Judge, United States District Court

Inventors at Plaintiff University of Minnesota (“the University”) hold various patents with respect to components of Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) wireless communications systems. The University is bringing these patent infringement actions — four in totaU-against major wireless service providers: AT & T Mobility LLC (“AT .& T”), Sprint Solutions, Inc. and Sprint Spectrum, . L.P. (together, “Sprint”), T-Mobile USA, Inc. (“T-Mobile”), and Célico Partnership (“Verizon”) (together, “the Defendants”), alleging violations of five of those patents. Specifically, the University alleges that the Defendants’ LTE wireless communications systems embody' the inventions claimed in the five asserted patents, without compensation' or authorization to the University or its faculty.

All four of the Defendants have moved to dismiss the University’s amended complaint. Accepting as true all allegations in the amended complaint, the Court con-[1004]*1004eludes that the University has adequately pled claims for direct infringement, induced infringement, and contributory infringement, but not willful blindness. Therefore, the Court will grant the Defendants’ motions in part as to ..the willful blindness claims but deny the motions as to the University’s claims for direct infringement, induced infringement, and contributory infringement.

BACKGROUND

L THE PATENTS

The University, through its inventors, holds hundreds of patents issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”). (Am. Compl. ¶ 6, Jan. 30, 2015, Docket No. 27.)1 Royalties from those patents enable the University to invest in further education and research. (Id. ¶ 5.) In 2013,2 the University received nearly $40 million in royalty revenues from licensing and commercializing the University’s patented inventions. (Id.)

A number of the University’s patents relate to aspects of wireless communication systems, many of which were developed by Professor Georgios Giannakis and his colleagues. (Id. ¶6.) Professor Gian-nakis has been a member of the University’s faculty since 1999. (Id. ¶ 7.) He is the Director of the Digital Technology Center and holds an Endowed 'Chair in Wireless Communications. (Id.) The University alleges that he “is among the top ten most cited researchers in the field of computer science, and the most .cited researcher in the fields of signal processing, communications, and networking.” (Id.) ■

In this case,, the University alleges that the Defendants infringed five patents (“the Asserted Patents”): (1) U.S. Patent No. 7,251,768 (“the ’768 Patent”), entitled “Wireless Communication System Having Error-Control Coder and Linear Precoder”; (2) U.S. Reissue Patent No. RE45,-230 (“the ’230 Patent”), entitled “Wireless Communication System Having Linear Encoder”; (3) U.S. Patent No. 8,588,317 (“the ’317 Patent”), entitled “Estimating Frequency-Offsets and Multi-Antenna Channels in MIMO OFDM Systems”; (4) U.S. Patent No. 8,718,185 (“the ’185 Patent”), entitled “Estimating Frequency-Offsets and Multi-Antenna Channels in MIMO OFDM Systems”; and (5) U.S. Patent No. 8,774,309 (“the ’309 Patent”), entitled “Estimating Frequency-Offsets and Multi-Antenna Channels in MIMO OFDM Systems.” (Id. ¶¶ 13, 16, 19, 22, 25; id., Exs. A-E.) Each of the Asserted Patents was issued to Professor Giannakis and his colleagues, and each relates to a component of wireless communications systems. (Id. ¶¶ 13, 16, 19, 22, 25.)' The University is now the sole owner of each of the Asserted Patents. (Id. ¶¶ 15, 18, 21, 24, 27.)

II. ALLEGED INFRINGEMENT

The Defendants all own and/or operate wireless communications systems that are publicly referred to as “4G LTE networks.” (77.¶ 28.) The Defendants use 4G LTE networks to provide communication services to their customers. (Id.) The amended complaint alleges that to provide these services, the Defendants adopted [1005]*1005“important and valuable technical innovations made by Professor Giannakis and his colleagues ... without .the University’s authorization, and also without compensating the University.” (Mil 8.)

More specifically, the University alleges that the Defendants imported, ■ made, and/or used LTE wireless communications systems and performed methods using those systems that directly infringed one or more claims of each of the Asserted Patents. (Id.¶¶ 32, 38, 44.) The amended complaint also alleges that Defendants sold and offered to sell services that involved the use of these LTE wireless communication systems and involved the use of methods that directly infringed one or more claims of each of the Asserted Patents. (Id.) The example provided in the amended complaint is that the patented inventions “relate to the operation of the radio access portion of [Defendants’] LTE wireless communication systems.” (Id. ¶ 29.)

The University claims that since at least November 6, 2014 — the day the original complaint was served — the Defendants have known that their actions constituted infringement and have actively and knowingly induced infringement of the Asserted Patents by selling communication services to customers that use the infringing systems. (Id. ¶¶33, 39, 45.) The complaint points to the Defendants’ “marketing, promoting, and advertising the use of its LTE network” as evidence of its specific intent to infringe the Asserted Patents. (Id.) The University alleges that the Defendants have taken infringing actions with the knowledge that there is a “high probability” that the components of their LTE wireless communication systems infringed on the University’s patents.' (Id.)

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On November 5, 2014, the University filed its original complaints in four related actions, alleging that the Defendants directly infringed and would indirectly and willfully infringe five patents. (Compl. ¶¶ 32-33, 39-40, 46-47, Nov. 5, 2014, Docket No. 1.) On January'9,'2015, the Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. (Mot. to Dismiss Compl, Jan. 9, 2015, Docket No. 19.) In response, the University filed amended complaints against each Defendant, removing the willful or bad-faith infringement allegations. (See generally Am. Compl. (excluding ¶¶ 35, 42, and ' 49 of the original complaint).) The amended complaint seeks damages and injunctive relief. (Id. ¶¶ 34-36, 40^2, 46-48.) On February 17, 2015, the Defendants moved to dismiss the University’s amended complaint. (Mot. to Dismiss Am; Compl., Feb. 17, 2015,, Docket No. 31.) This matter is now before the Court on the motions to dismiss.

ANALYSIS

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

In reviewing a motion to dismiss brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the Court, considers all facts alleged in the complaint as true to determine if the complaint states a “ ‘claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Gomez v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 676 F.3d 655, 660 (8th Cir.2012) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal,

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