Judge Profile

Howard

80 IP cases indexed. Covers patent matters.

Cases Presided Over

80 cases indexed | Page 2 of 3

patent instituted

Google LLC et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-00942

Google LLC et al. successfully secured institution in an IPR against Headwater Research LLC's '541 patent regarding device-assisted services for network capacity control. The Board found sufficient evidence that the remaining claims are unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103, based on prior art including Rao.

patent denied

Google LLC et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-00944

Google's IPR challenge against Headwater Research failed at the institution stage, with the PTAB denying the petition. The Board found that Google did not demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on unpatentability over prior art Rao and 6 US 8,028,060 B1 for claims 79 and 83.

patent denied

Google LLC et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-00945

Google's attempt to invalidate a wireless traffic control patent was denied by the PTAB, as the petitioner failed to meet the 'reasonable likelihood' standard for obviousness. The Board found that the prior art did not sufficiently teach or suggest the specific differential traffic policies claimed in the patent.

patent instituted

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01042

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless et al. successfully challenged Headwater Research LLC's patent (8924543) on grounds of obviousness, leading to the institution of the IPR proceeding. The petitioner argued that combining prior art references Poh and Maes rendered the claimed network service provisioning system obvious.

patent instituted

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01041

The PTAB instituted an IPR challenge against a wireless communications patent covering network service plan provisioning. The Petitioner, Cellco/Verizon Wireless et al., successfully demonstrated a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on its grounds of unpatentability under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and 103. This sets the stage for a full trial proceeding on all 42 challenged claims.

patent instituted

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01043

Amazon successfully petitioned the PTAB to institute an IPR against Nokia regarding mobile device user interface claims related to locked-state application interaction. The Board found reasonable likelihood of success on multiple grounds, allowing the case to proceed to trial.

patent instituted

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01051

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. successfully petitioned to institute IPR against Headwater Research LLC's patent (8639811) regarding wireless device provisioning and access control. The Board found reasonable likelihood that dependent claim 4 would be obvious over the combination of prior art references Rao and Jones.

patent instituted

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01139

Amazon successfully petitioned the PTAB to challenge Nokia's video compression patents based on obviousness over prior art references TML6 and Fandrianto. The Board granted institution, finding that the Petitioner met the reasonable likelihood standard for unpatentability. This decision sets a significant precedent in challenging complex technical claims using combined software/hardware disclosures.

patent instituted

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01140

Amazon successfully petitioned to institute IPR against Nokia's patent (7280599) regarding video compression and sub-pixel interpolation. The Board found sufficient evidence of obviousness over prior art references TML6 and Fandrianto, leading to the institution of all 51 challenged claims.

patent instituted

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01141

The PTAB instituted an IPR challenge against Nokia's patent (8036273), allowing Amazon to proceed with its obviousness arguments. The Board found that the combination of prior art references TML6 and Fandrianto plausibly teaches the claimed sub-pixel interpolation methods.

patent instituted

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01176

Amazon successfully instituted an IPR against Nokia regarding video compression standards, arguing that MPEG-1 teaches or suggests the claimed quantization methods. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of success despite initial claim construction disputes over sequence vs. picture parameters.

patent denied

Lenovo (United States) Inc. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01180

The PTAB denied institution of an IPR petition filed by Lenovo and Motorola against Headwater Research, finding that the petitioner failed to demonstrate a reasonable likelihood of prevailing on its obviousness grounds.

patent instituted

Lenovo (United States) Inc. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01181

Lenovo and Motorola successfully instituted an IPR against Headwater Research, challenging the obviousness of claims related to network capacity management over prior art references. The Board found sufficient evidence that combining Rao and Scahill would render at least claim 1 unpatentable as obvious under § 103.

patent instituted

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01396

The PTAB granted institution of IPR for Samsung against Headwater, finding a reasonable likelihood that the challenged wireless device claims are unpatentable over Bennett and Vadde.

patent denied

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01397

The PTAB denied Samsung's request to institute an IPR against Headwater Research's patent (9647918), citing procedural redundancy with a previously filed, higher-ranked petition.

patent instituted

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01407

Samsung challenged Headwater's patent (9179359) in an IPR proceeding focused on network traffic control claims. The PTAB granted institution, allowing Samsung to proceed with its § 103 obviousness challenge against Claim 26 using Shell and Cole prior art.

patent instituted

Ericsson Inc et al. v.Headwater Partners II LLC

· IPR2024-01468

Ericsson Inc et al. successfully petitioned to institute IPR against Headwater Partners II LLC's patent (9094868), challenging claims 11-15 on obviousness grounds. The PTAB found a reasonable likelihood that the claimed link quality estimation would have been obvious over Jarvinen and Fox.

patent instituted

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC et al. v.Entropic Communications, LLC

· IPR2025-00180

The PTAB granted institution for IPR2025-00180, allowing Comcast to challenge Entropic's wideband receiver patent. The Board found a reasonable likelihood of success based on the petitioner's arguments against anticipation and obviousness.

patent denied

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC et al. v.Entropic Communications, LLC

· IPR2025-00181

The PTAB denied Comcast's second IPR petition against Entropic's wideband receiver patent (11785275), citing the existence of a first, already-instituted parallel proceeding.

patent denied

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC et al. v.Entropic Communications, LLC

· IPR2025-00182

The PTAB denied Comcast's request to institute IPR against Entropic Communications regarding a wideband receiver patent. The denial was based on the existence of another parallel petition covering the same claims.

patent instituted

Toyota Motor Corp. v.AutoConnect Holdings LLC

· PGR2025-00041

Toyota Motor Corp. successfully petitioned to challenge AutoConnect Holdings LLC's patent, leading the PTAB to institute proceedings on grounds of obviousness (103) and patent eligibility (101). The Board found it likely that multiple claims are unpatentable over prior art references like Hendry.

patent instituted

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Intent IQ, LLC

· IPR2024-00701

The Board granted Samsung Electronics’ motion to join an existing IPR against Intent IQ’s ’878 patent, instituting review of claims 1‑4 and 6‑23. The joinder was found timely and without prejudice, consolidating the proceedings with the Meta Platforms IPR.

patent terminated or settled

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-00921

Amazon and Nokia jointly moved to terminate four inter partes reviews after reaching a settlement. The Board granted the termination and ordered the settlement documents to be kept confidential.

patent terminated or settled

Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01042

The IPRs concerning Patent 8,924,543 were terminated after Verizon Wireless and other carriers reached a settlement with Headwater Research. The Board granted the joint motion to end the proceedings under 35 U.S.C. § 317.

patent terminated or settled

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01139

Amazon and Nokia settled their dispute over U.S. Patent 6,950,469, leading to a joint motion that terminated four related inter partes review proceedings. The Board granted the termination and ordered the settlement documents to be kept confidential.

patent terminated or settled

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01051

Samsung and Headwater Research settled their dispute, leading the PTAB to terminate the inter partes review of patent 8,639,811. The settlement agreement was ordered to be kept confidential.

patent terminated or settled

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01140

Amazon and Nokia settled their IPR disputes over four wireless patents, leading the PTAB to terminate the proceedings and keep the settlement documents confidential.

patent all challenged claims unpatentable

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. v.ST CasesTech, LLC et al.

· IPR2024-01032

Samsung successfully challenged Staton Techiya’s echo‑cancelling ear‑piece patent. The PTAB found all asserted claims unpatentable as obvious over a combination of prior‑art references.

patent terminated or settled

Amazon.com, Inc. et al. v.Nokia Technologies Oy

· IPR2024-01141

Amazon and Nokia filed a joint motion to terminate four IPRs after reaching a settlement. The Board granted the termination and ordered the settlement documents to be kept confidential.

patent terminated or settled

Lenovo (United States) Inc. et al. v.Headwater Research LLC

· IPR2024-01181

Lenovo and Motorola Mobility settled their IPR challenge to Headwater Research’s patent 10,749,700, leading the PTAB to terminate the proceeding and keep the settlement confidential.

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