RecepTrexx LLC has expanded two of its three litigation campaigns, adding suits against Bose (2:24-cv-00060), VIZIO (3:24-cv-00239), and Yamaha (2:24-cv-00061) to its first campaign and cases against 8x8 (1:24-cv-00120), AT&T (2:24-cv-00051), China Huaxin Post and Telecom Technologies (Alcatel Lucent Enterprises USA (d/b/a ALE USA) (1:24-cv-00135), Dialpad (1:24-cv-00136), Ericsson (2:24-cv-00053), GoTo Technologies USA (1:24-cv-10288) Madison Dearborn Partners (Intermedia.net) (1:24-cv-00140), Ooma (1:24-cv-00142), RingCentral (1:24-cv-00144), Ringover (1:24-cv-10271), Talkdesk (1:24-cv-00145), UnitedWeb (Nextiva) (1:24-cv-00143), Verizon (2:24-cv-00057), and Yeastar USA (1:24-cv-00146) to its third. The latter group is accused of infringing a single patent through the provision of communications platforms that support features for activating hold music for callers, although the cases against AT&T, Ericsson, and Verizon have already been dismissed (without prejudice). Bose, Vizio, and Yamaha, meanwhile, are accused of infringing a separate patent through devices (soundbars, TVs, and AV receivers, respectively) that support volume adjustment via voice commands issued to a virtual assistant (Amazon Alexa for Bose, Google Assistant for Yamaha, and both for Vizio).
The patent asserted against the first campaign defendants (7,012,652) generally relates to reducing audio level to "immediately moderate an intermediate level of prevailing sound volume delivered from an entertainment apparatus". Comprising a family of one, the patent issued in March 2006 with an estimated priority date in January 2003.
The patent asserted against the third campaign defendants (RE42,997) generally relates to a system for delaying the answering of a phone call by playing a certain message for a caller, where said message is selected through a certain user interface control or trigger and where the caller remains connected until the message is interrupted to send the call to voicemail. Belonging to a family of two, the patent issued in December 2011 with an estimated priority date in July 2003.
RecepTrexx received both patents in a portfolio of six from Mind Fusion LLC, which acquired them in a portfolio of nearly 900 patent assets from Intellectual Ventures LLC (IV) affiliates Intellectual Ventures Assets 186 LLC (IVA 186) and Intellectual Ventures Assets 191 LLC (IVA 191) in February 2023. That same February, Mind Fusion recorded security interests in over 900 patent assets to IVA 186 and/or IVA 191.
James "Jim" Weisfield signed for Mind Fusion with respect to the assignment to RecepTrexx, "by and through its managing member" Ascend Innovation Management, LLC. Ascend Innovation Management itself was formed in Washington on July 14, 2022, by Riad Chummun and Weisfield. On social media, Weisfield reports having served as "Principal and Founder" with "Ascend IP"—a "full-service IP monetization firm helping clients strategically acquire, develop, sell, enforce and license patent portfolios"—since May 2022. Prior to that, he served multiple positions (most recently as "Vice President, Strategic Sales & Asia") with IV from July 2008 through April 2022. Chummun (also an IV alum) also reports a position as "Principal and Founder" with Ascend IP since May 2022. Prior to that, he had served as "President & Founder" with Glacier Peak Innovations from November 2021 through April 2022, describing that entity as "exclusively monetizing certain portfolios of over 1000 patent assets". Together, Chummun and Weisfield created Ascend IP, LLC in Washington in April 2022.
RecepTrexx was formed in Delaware on November 23, 2022. It provides a New York, New York address that has become associated with NPEs under the control of Jeffrey M. Gross. After litigating a patent on which he was a named inventor, Gross appears to have taken to patent monetization more generally through the assertion of acquired patents—for background concerning that turn in the context of then-recent acquisitions by entities apparently associated with Gross, see "Recent Patent Assignments Make Their USPTO Debut" (February 2023). Gross-linked NPEs have now launched around 70 litigation campaigns—33 of them in 2023 alone, at least three already in 2024.
In April 2022, Delaware Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly posted new standing orders: one requiring litigants to disclose details related to any nonrecourse funding arrangements with third parties; and another requiring all "nongovernmental joint ventures, limited liability corporations, partnerships or limited liability partnerships" to include in disclosure statements "the name of every owner, member and partner of the party, proceeding up the chain of ownership until the name of every individual and corporation with a direct or indirect interest in the party has been identified". Several Delaware cases filed in other Gross-tied campaigns landed before Judge Connolly—and the operation of those standing orders subsequently surfaced information concerning the funding behind those campaigns. See here for more on those proceedings.
On July 19, 2023, the RecepTrexx case against Signify was assigned to Judge Connolly as well, prompting the NPE to update its corporate disclosure to comply with the second standing order identified above. That amended filing confirms that Gross is RecepTrexx's sole member and owner. A voluntary dismissal with prejudice ended that case before the plaintiff would have been required to disclose whether it too proceeds with third-party ligation funding.
As noted, RecepTrexx has launched three litigation campaigns from that six-patent portfolio. It launched its first campaign in May 2023 with a suit against Flex (Wink); the NPE has since hit 16 other defendants including Extreme Networks, HP Enterprise (Aruba Networks), Honeywell, Philips, Siemens, TI, and TP-Link. Throughout the campaign, defendants have been targeted over the implementation of the Zigbee 3.0 mesh networking protocol or various voice assistant platforms. In the plaintiff's second campaign, initiated that same May, RecepTrexx sued Xperi (TiVo) over the support of media casting functionalities. RecepTrexx launched its third campaign in July 2023 with a suit against ASUSTek, OPPO, and TCL, targeting features for managing incoming calls on their respective cellphones. See "RecepTrexx Opens Up Third Litigation Campaign" (July 2023) for more on RecepTrexx and its three litigation campaigns.
The AT&T, Bose, Ericsson, Verizon, and Yamaha suits, each filed in the Eastern District of Texas, were assigned to Chief Judge Rodney Gilstrap, although, as noted above, just three days after they were filed, RecepTrexx voluntarily dismissed (without prejudice) the suits against AT&T, Ericsson, and Verizon.
The 8x8, ALE USA, Dialpad, Intermedia.net, Nextiva, Ooma, RingCentral, Talkdesk, and Yeastar cases, filed in the District of Delaware, have been assigned to District Judge Jennifer L. Hall. The GoTo and Ringover cases, each filed in the District of Massachusetts, have been assigned to District Judge Paul G. Levenson and District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, respectively. Finally, the VIZIO complaint, filed in the Northern District of Texas, has been assigned to District Judge Jane J. Boyle. There, the plaintiff (under representation by Garteiser Honea PC) appears to have ignored local rules that require it to certify the existence of any nonparty having an interest in the outcome of the litigation. 1/26, AT&T, Ericsson, Verizon, 1/30, Bose, Yamaha, Eastern District of Texas; 1/30, VIZIO, Northern District of Texas; 1/31, 8x8, 2/2, ALE USA, Dialpad, Intermedia.net, 2/5, Nextiva, Ooma, RingCentral, Talkdesk, Yeastar USA, District of Delaware; 2/1, Ringover, 2/5, GoTo, District of Massachusetts.
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