Unified Patents, LLC v. Samsung Display Co Ltd

This case, Unified Patents, LLC v. Samsung Display Co Ltd, IPR2025-01481, involves an Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The petitioner, Unified Patents, LLC, is a member-based organization dedicated to deterring patent assertion entities (PAEs), also known as patent trolls, by challenging the validity of patents it deems of poor quality. Their goal is to reduce frivolous patent litigation and foster innovation by invalidating questionable patents. The patent owner and defendant in this proceeding is Samsung Display Co Ltd, a prominent South Korean operating company specializing in the manufacture of advanced display panels, including OLED and QD-OLED technologies, for various electronic applications such as smartphones, televisions, and laptops.

The patent at issue in this IPR is US Patent 10013088. This patent generally pertains to a "Method of manufacturing and structure of semiconductor device with field oxide structure." While there isn't an "accused product" in the traditional sense of infringement litigation, the patent's subject matter directly relates to semiconductor manufacturing processes, which are fundamental to the production of display panels, Samsung Display's core business. Therefore, challenging the validity of this patent has implications for the manufacturing technologies employed in the display industry.

The procedural posture of this case is an administrative challenge initiated at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), a specialized judicial body within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This venue is critical because IPRs provide an efficient mechanism for third parties to challenge the validity of issued patents based on prior art. The case ultimately concluded in a settlement. This IPR is notable because Unified Patents typically targets patents held by Non-Practicing Entities (NPEs); however, in this instance, they are directly challenging a patent owned by a major operating company, Samsung Display Co Ltd, indicating a potential strategic shift or a perceived threat to their members from this particular patent.

The case of Unified Patents, LLC v. Samsung Display Co Ltd, IPR2025-01481, pertains to an Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceeding at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) concerning US patent 10013088. This case concluded in a settlement.

Important Note on Parties: While the prompt identifies Unified Patents, LLC as the Petitioner (Plaintiff), search results for IPR2025-01481 consistently list BOE Technology Group Co Ltd as the Petitioner and Samsung Display Co Ltd as the Patent Owner. Adhering to the operating rules, this summary will proceed with Unified Patents, LLC as the Petitioner, as provided in the authoritative case metadata.

Key Legal Developments and Outcome

1. IPR Filing and Institution:

• Petition Filing: The petition for IPR2025-01481 was filed on September 25, 2025.
• Institution Decision: The PTAB issued its decision to institute the IPR on December 30, 2025.

2. Settlement:
The IPR proceeding reached a "Settlement" as its final status. Specific details regarding the terms of the settlement are not publicly available in the provided search results.

3. Parallel Proceedings and Their Effect:
While the specific IPR2025-01481 was settled, Samsung Display Co Ltd has been involved in numerous other PTAB proceedings and patent litigation cases, often concerning OLED display technologies. For instance, Samsung Display Co Ltd has been a patent owner in multiple IPRs filed by other entities which also resulted in settlement. Furthermore, Samsung entities have been involved in district court patent infringement cases where they were defendants, leading to verdicts and subsequent settlements, such as with Pictiva Displays International Ltd. and Headwater Research, Inc.. There have also been instances where Samsung entities have initiated patent infringement lawsuits, for example, against BOE Technology Group in the Eastern District of Texas. However, no specific parallel district court litigation directly involving US patent 10013088 with Unified Patents, LLC as a party was identified in the provided search results.

In the context of IPRs, the settlement of this IPR proceeding typically means that the parties have reached a private agreement to resolve the dispute regarding the patentability of US patent 10013088, leading to the termination of the IPR before a final written decision by the PTAB.

Unified Patents, LLC, as a frequent petitioner in Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings, utilizes a combination of in-house counsel and outside law firms for its PTAB cases. While specific counsel for IPR2025-01481 are not directly listed in the provided search results, information from similar IPR filings and Unified Patents' own team pages indicates the likely individuals and firms involved.

Based on general practices and previous IPR filings by Unified Patents, the following attorneys and firms are typically involved in their PTAB proceedings:

In-House Counsel (Unified Patents, LLC)

• Roshan Mansinghani
  • Role: Head of Operations, Senior Patent Counsel
  • Firm: Unified Patents LLC, Dallas, TX or Washington, DC
  • Experience: Prepares and litigates PTAB patent review proceedings for Unified Patents.
• Jordan M. Rossen
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel
  • Firm: Unified Patents LLC, Washington, D.C.
  • Experience: Prepares and litigates post-grant proceedings before the PTAB for Unified Patents.
• Alyssa Holtslander
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel (now Trademark Managing Counsel)
  • Firm: Unified Patents LLC
  • Experience: Prepares and litigates post-grant proceedings before the PTAB for Unified Patents. Previously practiced at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garret & Dunner, LLP for over ten years, providing intellectual property services including post-grant proceedings, ITC proceedings, and district court litigations across mechanical and electrical technologies.
• Jessica L.A. Marks
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel (now SEP & Foreign Managing Counsel)
  • Firm: Unified Patents LLC
  • Experience: Prepares and litigates post-grant proceedings before the PTAB for Unified Patents. Previously practiced at Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garret & Dunner, LLP for over ten years, litigating post-grant proceedings, district court cases, and International Trade Commission proceedings. Also experienced in licensing negotiations and patent prosecution.
• Jung Hahm
  • Role: Senior Patent Counsel
  • Firm: Unified Patents LLC
  • Experience: Prepares and litigates PTAB patent review proceedings for Unified Patents. Previously practiced at Amster, Rothstein & Ebenstein LLP for over 16 years, focusing on PTAB trial practice, patent litigation, and patent prosecution.

Outside Counsel

Unified Patents frequently works with outside counsel for its IPR filings. Erise IP, P.A. is a firm that has represented Unified Patents in PTAB proceedings.

• Jason R. Mudd
  • Role: Lead Counsel (External)
  • Firm: Erise IP, P.A., Overland Park, Kansas
  • Experience: Frequently listed as lead counsel for Unified Patents in IPR proceedings.
• Eric A. Buresh
  • Role: Back-Up Counsel (External)
  • Firm: Erise IP, P.A., Overland Park, Kansas
  • Experience: Listed as back-up counsel for Unified Patents in IPR proceedings.
• Kelly R. Hughes
  • Role: Back-Up Counsel (External) / Senior Patent Counsel (at Unified Patents)
  • Firm: Erise IP, P.A., Greenwood Village, Colorado or Unified Patents LLC
  • Experience: Listed as back-up counsel for Unified Patents in IPR proceedings.

It is important to note that the specific counsel for IPR2025-01481 would be definitively identified on the official PTAB docket for that case. The information above is based on the general representation patterns of Unified Patents in similar IPR proceedings.

Despite a diligent search of publicly available PTAB case information and legal news sources, the counsel of record representing Samsung Display Co Ltd in IPR2025-01481 could not be definitively identified.

It is important to note a discrepancy between the provided case metadata and the information found through web searches. The prompt states that Unified Patents, LLC is the plaintiff (petitioner) in IPR2025-01481. However, multiple PTAB case lists and filings consistently identify BOE Technology Group Co Ltd as the petitioner and Samsung Display Co Ltd as the patent owner in IPR2025-01481, concerning U.S. Patent No. 10,013,088. This IPR proceeding also concluded in a settlement.

Given the settlement status and the lack of specific attorney appearances in the publicly accessible summaries of this particular IPR, detailed information regarding Samsung Display Co Ltd's counsel, their roles, firms, and experience is not readily available through general web searches. While search results show various law firms representing Samsung in other IPRs and patent litigation, none of these explicitly name counsel for Samsung Display Co Ltd in IPR2025-01481.