Defendant
6 cases as defendant.
Alliacense Ltd. (also styled Alliacense LLC) is a Cupertino, California–based intellectual-property licensing firm and a subsidiary/enterprise of The TPL Group (Technology Properties Limited). It was formed around 2005, after TPL merged its microprocessor patent interests with those of Patriot Scientific Corporation (PTSC), to manage licensing of the resulting portfolio. It is privately held; public filings describe both TPL and Alliacense as owned by Daniel E. Leckrone, with Alliacense managed by Daniel M. "Mac" Leckrone. No reliable revenue or headcount figures are publicly disclosed.
Alliacense has no product operations — it is a licensing/assertion entity, not an operating company. Its principal asset is the Moore Microprocessor Patent (MMP) Portfolio (named for inventor Charles "Chuck" Moore), comprising seven U.S. patents plus European and Japanese counterparts covering microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, embedded-processor and SoC design techniques, jointly owned by TPL and PTSC. Alliacense also marketed the related FastLogic portfolio. Its work is licensing-program design, claim-chart preparation, reverse-engineering/product analysis, and licensee negotiation.
Litigation posture: Alliacense is best characterized as a non-practicing licensing/assertion entity. In the tracked data it appears in six cases, all as a defendant and none as plaintiff. Those appearances are declaratory-judgment actions filed against the TPL/PTSC/Alliacense licensing group by technology manufacturers — i.e., the licensees' targets struck first in the Northern District of California, while TPL/PTSC separately filed infringement suits in the Eastern District of Texas and at the ITC. So the defendant-side count reflects antipathy toward a licensor, not an operating company being attacked.
Notable cases/context: HTC Corp. et al. v. Technology Properties Ltd. et al. (N.D. Cal. 5:08-cv-00882, filed Feb. 8, 2008) and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. v. Technology Properties Ltd. et al. (5:08-cv-00884) sought declarations of non-infringement/invalidity of MMP patents; Barco N.V. v. Technology Properties Ltd. et al. (filed Dec. 1, 2008) followed. These were related before Judge Fogel alongside an Acer action. TPL later filed Chapter 11 (2013), and licensing was administered through Phoenix Digital Solutions, a TPL/PTSC joint venture.
Sources: EE Times; BusinessWire/press releases (Alliacense); SEC filings (Patriot Scientific); Justia dockets; Morgan Lewis NPE report.
Barco N.V. brought a declaratory judgment action on three MMP patents (specific patents not confirmed in the narrative). The case was related to and consolidated with the HTC and Acer/Gateway actions.
Declaratory judgment action filed December 1, 2008, by Barco N.V. against Technology Properties Ltd., Patriot Scientific Corp., and Alliacense Ltd. concerning the MMP portfolio. Various orders issued in 2010–2011, and the '584 patent was non-asserted via covenant. The narrative does not clearly identify the '915 patent as specifically asserted in this action.
HTC filed a declaratory-judgment action of invalidity/non-infringement as to the '336, '584, '749 and '148 patents. TPL counterclaimed for infringement of the '336, '749, '148 and '890 patents. After trial, the jury found HTC literally infringed claims 6, 7, 9, 13, 14 and 15 of the '336 patent with a $958,560 lump-sum royalty, not willful; JMOL denied and final judgment entered for TPL. Other patents were dismissed or carved out.
ASUSTeK brought a declaratory judgment action naming US 5,440,749, US 5,809,336, US 5,809,623, US 5,809,638, and US 5,784,584; the complaint was amended July 10 and September 23, 2008. The case settled December 18, 2008, and all claims were dismissed February 25, 2009.
HTC filed a declaratory judgment action against TPL, Patriot Scientific and Alliacense; the '890 patent was added by amended complaint on July 10, 2008. TPL counterclaimed for infringement of '336, '749, '148 and '890. On Sept. 19, 2013, all claims relating to the '890 patent were dismissed by stipulation; only the '336 patent reached the jury.
Related N.D. Cal. declaratory judgment action by ASUSTek/ASUS against TPL, Patriot, MCM Portfolio, and Alliacense, related to the Acer and HTC cases. The narrative does not provide an outcome.