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29 April 2021PatentsMuireann Bolger

Core targets Apple, Google, Bloomberg in patent dispute

Core Optical Technologies has embroiled Apple, Google, Verizon, EquinixAT&T and Bloomberg in its escalating patent dispute with Juniper Networks.

Core filed a lawsuit against the companies on Tuesday, April 27, at the US District Court for the District of California.

According to the complaint, the companies infringed the patent, US number 6,782,211, which covers technology that significantly increases data transmission rates in fibre optic networks, by buying fibre optic devices made by Juniper.

The dispute arose when Core sued Nokia and Juniper in November 2019 at the same court accusing them of infringing the patent-in-suit.

According to Core, the ‘211 patent protects fibre optics and describes a cross-polarisation interference canceller that “enables reconstruction of two optical signals transmitted with generally orthogonal polarisation states in the same frequency band”.

In its 2019 complaint, Core accused the companies of infringement when they offered “devices that can be configured to mitigate and/or cancel cross polarisation interference in received fib[re] optic signals”.

In the latest suit filed this week, Core holds that Apple, Google and the other named defendants had directly infringed each asserted claim of the ’211 patent, by using “one or more of the accused instrumentalities within the US, less than six years before the filing of this complaint, and prior to the November 4, 2019, expiration date of the ’211 patent”.

It added that the LinkedIn pages of several employees belonging to the companies showed evidence of the collaboration that led to the infringements. According to Core, Apple hired former Juniper systems engineer Blake Wilson who had knowledge of the “accused instrumentalities” that contributed to the alleged infringement of the patent-in-suit.

The complaint said that “based on Apple’s apparent familiarity with Mr Wilson, and his familiarity with the BTI 7800 systems, Apple seamlessly hired Mr Wilson from Juniper in June/July 2015 to, inter alia, continue assisting it in operating its BTI 7800 systems...  Wilson’s LinkedIn page further confirms that Apple used [a]ccused [i]nstrumentalities in the [US]”.

Several disputes

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) assigned the '211 patent issued to inventor Mark Core in August 2004, who later transferred the patent rights to Core in August 2011.

Since then, the patent has been the focus of several disputes, attracting three petitions for reviews at the USPTO’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Fujitsu challenged the patent in 2016, followed by Infinera in 2018 after Core sued them for infringement.

While Fujitsu and Infinera each succeeded in convincing US federal courts to stay legal proceedings until after the conclusion of the proceedings before the PTAB, the board declined to institute reviews of the patents on both occasions.

Earlier this month, WIPR reported that Juniper Networks and Nokia had also failed to convince a USPTO tribunal to review the same patent when they argued it was invalid on the grounds of obviousness. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), however, refused to institute an inter partes review on the grounds of insufficient evidence.

This week Core accused the companies of “egregious conduct” and flagged the PTAB’s continued refusal to review the validity of the patent in suit.

“Because the PTAB has already rejected three extensive invalidity challenges to the ’211 patent, the [d]efendants cannot reasonably believe that they have a viable invalidity defence,” said Core.

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