Defendant
11 cases as defendant.
Company overview. Slingshot Printing LLC ("Slingshot") is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business at 10015 Old Columbia Road, Suite B215, Columbia, Maryland. It is a private company and a classic non-practicing entity (NPE): its own 2022 complaint describes it as "in the business of licensing patented technology," and RPX has characterized it as a newly formed NPE. No revenue, headcount, or operating footprint figures are publicly available.
Products / services / operations. Slingshot has no products, manufacturing, or R&D operations. Its sole asset is a patent portfolio of roughly 100+ U.S. patents (PatSnap lists ~113 total) covering inkjet printhead and micro-fluid ejection technology — semiconductor substrates for heater chips, thermal-sensing heater-chip circuitry, and related printhead designs. The portfolio originated with Lexmark International, whose inkjet technology and patents were acquired by Japan's Funai Electric for roughly $100 million in 2013; Funai assigned the patents Slingshot asserts to the company in April 2019, and RPX noted that assignment records suggest Funai may retain an economic interest in Slingshot's litigation.
Patent-litigation posture. Slingshot is an NPE asserting an acquired portfolio, not an operating company defending products. It is a two-way litigant in the tracked docket only because it became the respondent in Canon-initiated IPR proceedings: it appears as plaintiff in 3 tracked cases and defendant in 2. Its 2019–2020 infringement campaign against HP Inc. ran in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division (a plaintiff-friendly venue, later transferred to Austin), asserting 31 patents across multiple suits before settling around 2021.
Notable cases / context. The flagship matters are Slingshot Printing LLC v. HP Inc. (W.D. Tex., 2019) and Slingshot Printing LLC v. Canon U.S.A., Inc. (E.D.N.Y., 2022). Canon countered the latter by petitioning for inter partes review of Slingshot patents including U.S. Patent Nos. 7,484,823, 7,594,708, and 7,195,341; the PTAB found the challenged claims obvious, and the Federal Circuit affirmed those rulings in 2026. Slingshot has been represented in these campaigns by Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery, Hecht Partners, and MoloLamken.
Canon petitioned for inter partes review of all claims 1-17 of the '823 patent. The PTAB instituted review and issued a Final Written Decision on August 6, 2024 finding all challenged claims unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious. Slingshot appealed to the Federal Circuit.
Canon petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. Patent No. 7,594,708. Institution was granted on August 1, 2023, and a Final Written Decision issued on July 30, 2024. Slingshot filed a Notice of Appeal on October 2, 2024.
Canon petitioned for inter partes review of claims 1-6 and 8-20 of the '864 patent. The PTAB instituted review and issued a Final Written Decision finding all challenged claims unpatentable as obvious. Slingshot appealed.
Canon petitioned for inter partes review of claims 1-10 and 13-14 of the '629 patent. The PTAB denied institution on May 24, 2023, so no claim of the '629 patent was invalidated.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Canon Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of the '523 patent. The PTAB granted institution, issued a Final Written Decision on April 9, 2024 finding the challenged claims unpatentable, and denied Director Review on June 6, 2024. The PTAB decision was affirmed on appeal.
Canon U.S.A., Inc. and Canon Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of the '341 patent. The PTAB instituted review and, in an April 9, 2024 Final Written Decision, held claims 1-5 and 8 unpatentable as obvious over U.S. Patent No. 6,412,917 and U.S. Patent No. 7,240,997.
HP Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. Patent 7,410,246. The parties settled, filed a joint motion to terminate, and the PTAB entered a termination decision on March 29, 2021 before institution.
HP Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. Patent 6,394,593. The PTAB instituted trial on January 14, 2021, and terminated the proceeding on March 29, 2021, after the parties settled.
HP petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. Patent 6,243,115, challenging claims 1-19. The PTAB granted institution on January 14, 2021, but the proceeding was terminated without a final written decision after the parties settled, with the termination decision issued March 29, 2021.
HP Inc. filed an inter partes review challenging U.S. Patent No. 7,014,299. The PTAB instituted trial on January 14, 2021, and terminated the proceeding on March 29, 2021, on joint motion based on settlement before a final written decision.
HP Inc. filed an inter partes review against Slingshot Printing LLC concerning U.S. Patent 7,244,015. The Board instituted the review on January 14, 2021, and terminated it on March 29, 2021, after a joint motion to terminate based on settlement.