Defendant
2 cases as defendant.
Todd Schmidt is an intellectual property professional and a principal at George Street Partners, a firm describing itself as an IP licensing, advisory, and brokerage company. Schmidt is consistently named as a party in patent litigation alongside the entity Aloft Media, LLC, with which he is associated. His professional background includes roles in business development, sales, and marketing at companies such as Procter & Gamble, Warner Bros., and Dyson Inc.
Aloft Media, LLC is a non-practicing entity (NPE), also known as a patent assertion entity, that owns and licenses a patent portfolio. The company states its portfolio contains patents related to website technology, online messaging, and mobile media services. In legal filings by its adversaries, Aloft Media has been characterized as a "patent troll." The company does not produce products or operate services based on its patents but instead generates revenue through licensing and enforcement of its intellectual property.
The provided database shows Todd Schmidt as a defendant in two patent cases and a plaintiff in none. This record reflects a specific litigation tactic where companies targeted by Aloft Media's enforcement campaigns have filed preemptive lawsuits. These are known as declaratory judgment actions, where the target company asks a court to rule that it does not infringe the asserted patents and that the patents are invalid. Therefore, while technically a defendant in these tracked cases, Schmidt's actual posture, via Aloft Media, is that of a patent assertor monetizing a portfolio.
The two tracked cases, Schaefer Systems International, Inc. v. Aloft Media, LLC et al. and Brotherhood Mutual Insurance Company v. Aloft Media, LLC et al., are both declaratory judgment actions filed against Aloft Media, Todd Schmidt, and associated entities. In both instances, the plaintiffs filed suit after being contacted by Aloft Media regarding alleged infringement of patents related to website functionality, specifically the use of drop-down menus (U.S. Patent No. 10,372,793). Opponents have noted that Aloft has a history of filing numerous patent infringement lawsuits in other jurisdictions.
The plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment that the patent is invalid and not infringed. The case was terminated on July 7, 2025.
A declaratory judgment action that terminated on November 6, 2023. Prior to termination, the court had denied the defendants' motions to dismiss.