Defendant
7 cases as defendant.
RAH Color Technologies LLC is a privately held, single-owner licensing entity based in Alexandria, Virginia (originally Rochester, New York), formed in 2005 by Dr. Richard A. Holub, a color scientist and named inventor on essentially the entire portfolio. It has no parent, no public ticker, and no disclosed revenue or headcount; its own complaints describe a prior venture, Imagicolor Corporation (1998), that failed to commercialize, after which RAH was created as "a vehicle for an on-going licensing program." It is best characterized as a non-practicing entity / patent-holding licensor rather than an operating company — it does not make, sell, or service products.
Patent portfolio and technology. RAH holds roughly 27–35 issued U.S. patents (plus foreign counterparts) in digital color management. The families, with priority dates back to February 26, 1996, cover: (1) networked "system for distributing and controlling color reproduction at multiple sites" (e.g., U.S. 6,995,870; 7,729,008; 7,710,560; 8,416,444), (2) "methods and apparatus for calibrating a color display" (e.g., U.S. 7,104,648; 8,279,236), (3) color-printer calibration (U.S. 7,280,251), and (4) color calibration of color image rendering devices (U.S. 9,894,340; 10,560,676). Asserted technology centers on ICC-profile processing, gamut mapping, and remote/soft proofing.
Litigation posture. The case data show 50 suits as plaintiff against 7 defendant-side appearances — the classic NPE signature. Nearly every tracked matter is RAH asserting its portfolio; the seven "defendant" entries are Adobe IPRs (IPR2019-00627/-00628/-00629) and an EFI declaratory-judgment action, not affirmative counter-suits. RAH historically filed in plaintiff-friendly or home venues (N.D. Illinois, W.D.N.Y., and E.D. Texas Sherman Division for its 2020 Microsoft complaints), with many cases consolidated for pretrial into MDL No. 2874 in the Northern District of California.
Notable matters. Prominent defendants include Microsoft, Adobe, Xerox, Eastman Kodak, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, Dalim Software, Quad/Graphics, Samsung, Fujifilm, Ricoh, Agfa, X-Rite, and Seiko Epson. RAH states it has licensed the portfolio to several large color-imaging manufacturers plus multiple end users; outside counsel has included Global IP Law Group and Merzbach Law Office. Outcomes and validity findings for specific patents are not summarized here.
Inter partes review of US 7,791,761. Challenged claims 7–11, 13, and 15; instituted September 4, 2019. Final Written Decision on October 8, 2020 held claims 7, 8, 10, 11, and 13 unpatentable, and Adobe did not show claim 15 unpatentable.
Inter partes review of U.S. Patent 8,416,444 B2. Claims 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 26, and 27 were challenged. The Board determined that Petitioner did not demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the challenged claims are unpatentable.
Adobe Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of claims 28–33 and 36–38 of U.S. Patent 7,729,008. The PTAB instituted review on 2019-08-20 and issued a final written decision finding that petitioner did not prove those claims unpatentable; RAH prevailed.
Adobe Inc. filed an inter partes review challenging claims 32, 33, and 37 of the '897 patent under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 103. The PTAB entered a Final Written Decision on October 8, 2020.
EFI sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement of the '704 patent (along with the '870, '008, '897 and '444 patents), arguing RAH's suits against EFI's customers created a real controversy. The court granted RAH's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction and indicated it was inclined to transfer to the E.D. Virginia.
Electronics for Imaging, Inc. filed a declaratory-judgment action against RAH Color Technologies LLC; the case was part of the RAH Color MDL, transferred to N.D. Cal. as 3:18-cv-07465-SI, and dismissed. U.S. Patent 7,729,008 was among the patents at issue.
Declaratory judgment action per PTAB mandatory notice; placed '870 and '704 at issue.