Defendant
13 cases as defendant.
SMART MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES LLC is a Delaware-organized limited liability company with its principal place of business in Austin, Texas. The company operates as a Non-Practicing Entity (NPE), also characterized as a patent assertion entity (PAE), focused on monetizing a portfolio of intellectual property rights through licensing and litigation rather than the sale of products or services. No public information regarding its founding year, employee count, or revenue specifically for this entity could be reliably verified.
The company's asserted patent portfolio covers technologies foundational to modern mobile device functionality and wireless communications. These include patents related to controller and server networking systems, wireless device technology enabling multichannel data transfer, system architecture for interfacing IP-based wireless devices with subtasks and channels, and multifunction mobile devices and appliance control technology.
SMART MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES LLC maintains an active patent-litigation posture solely as a plaintiff, with all three tracked cases initiated by the company. This aligns with its characterization as a patent assertion entity. The company has brought suits against major technology firms such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Alphabet Inc. (Google's parent company). It has also been involved in multiple appellate proceedings against Apple Inc. before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
Notable cases include SMART MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES LLC v. APPLE INC., where the Federal Circuit affirmed the unpatentability of U.S. Patent No. 8,982,863B1, related to controller and server networking systems, effectively ending its enforceability. Another case against Apple, involving U.S. Patent No. 9,191,083 concerning wireless multichannel data transfer, resulted in a "Vacated and Remanded" disposition by the Federal Circuit, preserving the patent's potential enforceability and directing further consideration by the lower tribunal. Additionally, the Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidity of U.S. Patent No. 9,756,168, pertaining to multifunction mobile devices and appliance control, in a case against Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics.
Apple petitioned for inter partes review of claims 1-3 and 5 of U.S. Patent 9,319,075. The Board issued a Final Written Decision on September 25, 2024, determining no challenged claim unpatentable. Real parties in interest included Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics entities; Apple appealed.
Inter partes review of U.S. Patent No. 9,019,946 B1. The Board found claims 14, 15, 17–21, and 26–30 unpatentable; claims 1–13 and 16 were not shown unpatentable. A Feb. 13, 2024 errata corrected the disposition to include claim 26 among the unpatentable claims and to list claims 1–13 and 16 as surviving.
IPR petition filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. et al. against Smart Mobile Technologies LLC before the PTAB. Institution decision January 24, 2023; final written decision January 23, 2024; on appeal at the Federal Circuit (Appeal No. 24-1607). The '653 patent mapping is provisional per the narrative.
Inter partes review petition filed by Samsung against Smart Mobile challenging US 9,084,291. A Final Written Decision is reported, but the specific outcome was not verified in the narrative.
Apple Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. filed an inter partes review petition against Smart Mobile Technologies LLC directed at U.S. Patent No. 8,761,739. The PTAB instituted review on December 5, 2022, issued a Final Written Decision, and an IPR certificate issued on January 5, 2024.
Apple, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of US 9,049,119 B2. The Board issued a final written decision on Nov. 28, 2023, finding all challenged claims unpatentable as obvious, and an IPR certificate issued on Feb. 15, 2024.
Apple and Samsung petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. 8,472,937. The PTAB instituted on all grounds and issued a Final Written Decision on December 4, 2023, holding all challenged claims unpatentable; an IPR certificate issued April 1, 2024.
Apple Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of U.S. 9,756,168, with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. identified as real parties in interest. The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision on October 23, 2023, holding the challenged claims unpatentable as obvious.
Inter partes review of U.S. Patent No. 8,442,501 B1. The Board instituted review on Sept. 29, 2022, and issued a Final Written Decision on Sept. 26, 2023, holding claims 1–3, 5, 6, 10, 13, and 16–18 unpatentable. Smart Mobile did not appeal; an inter partes review certificate (kind code K1) issued Jan. 2, 2024, confirming cancellation.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics America, Inc., and Apple Inc. petitioned for inter partes review of US 8,824,434. The PTAB instituted review on Oct. 26, 2022, and issued a final written decision on Oct. 23, 2023 holding claims 1-8 unpatentable as obvious.
Apple Inc. challenged the patentability of US8472936 before the PTAB. The PTAB issued a Final Written Decision, which was appealed. The Federal Circuit later reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded, concluding the Board was precluded from finding certain claims of US8472936 patentable due to issue preclusion with claims from related patents 8761739 and 8442501 previously found unpatentable in other IPRs.
Samsung appealed to the Federal Circuit, likely from a PTAB IPR proceeding involving Smart Mobile Technologies LLC. Samsung voluntarily dismissed the appeal on August 6, 2024.
Federal Circuit appeals from PTAB final written decisions concerning the '946 patent (and the '653 patent). The court affirmed the PTAB's determination that Apple failed to prove claims 1–13 and 16 of the '946 patent unpatentable, but vacated and remanded on Smart Mobile's cross-appeal regarding claim 17 due to inadequate motivation-to-combine analysis under the APA. Related/proximate dockets include 24-1607 and 24-1623.