Litigation News

EDVA maintained its "Rocket Docket" reputation in 2025 with 11.9-month median case disposition. Major developments included DOJ's antitrust victory against Google finding monopolization, consolidated FTC/state antitrust actions against Zillow and Redfin, and shipbuilding wage conspiracy case surviving motion to dismiss. Patent cases featured venue ruling requiring more than Virginia cloud servers for infringement jurisdiction. Court rejected $425 million Capital One class action settlement as insufficient, demonstrating rigorous judicial scrutiny of proposed resolutions.

François Jonquères joined Plasseraud IP Avocats from Simmons & Simmons as partner, strengthening the French firm's patent litigation practice. Jonquères previously represented Merck in thyroid medication litigation, Dana Farber against INPI over cancer drug SPC application, and J.C. Bamford against Manitou. Plasseraud's litigation team has handled UPC case ScanTrust v Advanced Track and Trace. The firm continues expanding through strategic hires and UPC-focused growth, while Simmons & Simmons maintains integrated pan-European patent practice.

Epic Games secured a Ninth Circuit victory affirming a district court injunction requiring Apple to reform App Store policies. The appeals court upheld contempt findings against Apple, rejecting the company's compliance arguments regarding its 27% commission on external link purchases and related restrictions. The court ruled Apple acted in bad faith and violated a prior order governing conduct toward app developers. Smith Anderson filed an amicus brief supporting Epic Games, addressing injunctive relief scope and contempt standards in antitrust cases.

Korean chipmakers SK hynix and Samsung Electronics face mounting patent infringement lawsuits from NPEs including Advanced Memory Technologies, Netlist, Monolithic 3D, and Network System Technologies in U.S. courts. PTAB rejected SK hynix's patent invalidation petitions against Advanced Memory Technologies. Netlist won $421.15 million in jury verdicts against Samsung and reached $40 million settlement with SK hynix. Rising NPE attacks coincide with declining IPR grant rates under new USPTO policies favoring patent holders.

GraphOn filed patent infringement lawsuit against Google in US District Court in Texas, alleging Google's Base, YouTube, Blogger, Sites, and AdWords services violate four patents (US Patents 6,324,538, 7,028,034, 7,269,591, 6,850,940). GraphOn simultaneously pursuing unresolved suit against Yahoo, CareerBuilder, eHarmony, Match.com, and IAC/Interactive Corp. over same patents. Company settled with AutoTrader.com in January and has pending lawsuit against Juniper Networks. GraphOn acquired patents through 2005 buyout of Network Engineering Software.

Qualcomm filed a lawsuit against Nokia alleging infringement of 12 patents related to GSM standard device manufacturing. The suit seeks to halt Nokia's US phone sales and monetary damages. This follows Nokia and five other manufacturers complaining to the European Commission about Qualcomm's business practices in 3G chip manufacturing. Qualcomm previously sued Broadcom over similar patents in July. The dispute centers on licensing terms for essential GSM/GPRS/EDGE patents and royalty expectations.

Appeals court overturned $565 million judgment against Microsoft in University of California and Eolas patent lawsuit. Eolas claimed Microsoft's Internet Explorer infringed patent covering mechanism for embedding interactive programs in web browsers through plug-ins like Flash and QuickTime. Microsoft argued prior art invalidated 1994 patent. Case returns to lower court where Microsoft will attempt to prove Eolas didn't invent technology and withheld information from USPTO. Patent office currently re-examining Eolas patent.

Spring Design received patent 7,926,072 for multiple-screen technology covering APIs that enable single applications to communicate with complementary displays like LCD and E-Paper. Spring Design sued Barnes and Noble over the Nook e-reader's similar dual-screen design after debuting its Alex device one day before Barnes and Noble's 2009 Nook announcement. The companies settled last month, requiring Barnes and Noble to become a Spring Design licensee for the patented technology.

NTP, a patent holding firm, sued Palm in Virginia federal court for alleged patent infringement related to Palm's Treo smartphone's mobile email and connectivity features. NTP claims Palm's products infringe patents similar to those in its $612.5 million settlement with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion. NTP contacted Palm's former parent 3Com in 2000 and Palm directly in 2004 and 2006 before filing suit after licensing negotiations failed. NTP seeks cash compensation and remains open to settlement discussions.

Birchtech Corp. concluded a patent lawsuit with a $78 million settlement in 2024, increased from an initial $57 million award. CEO Richard Macpherson stated the judgment validates the company's patented water purification technologies and strengthens resources for 2026 growth strategy. Birchtech continues pursuing licensing agreements with entities allegedly using its technology without authorization. The settlement resolves significant legal matter and reinforces the company's intellectual property position for future licensing negotiations.