Litigation summary

{"answer":"U.S. Patent No. 6,434,212 has been the subject of several litigation proceedings, including district court lawsuits and challenges at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). The patent, which describes a pedometer that calculates distance based on stride length and rate, has been asserted by Blackbird Tech LLC (doing business as Blackbird Technologies) against multiple companies in the fitness technology sector.

District Court Litigation:

1. Blackbird Tech LLC v. Fitbit, Inc.

• Plaintiff: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Defendant: Fitbit, Inc.
• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
• Case Number: 1:16-cv-00683
• Filing Date: August 4, 2016
• Outcome/Current Status: This case, along with other related lawsuits, appears to have been impacted by the PTAB proceedings mentioned below. The district court litigation was likely stayed pending the outcome of the inter partes reviews.

2. Blackbird Tech LLC v. Garmin International, Inc. et al.

• Plaintiff: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Defendant: Garmin International, Inc. and Garmin USA, Inc.
• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
• Case Number: 1:16-cv-00684
• Filing Date: August 4, 2016
• Outcome/Current Status: Blackbird Technologies settled this patent infringement lawsuit with Garmin in December 2017.

3. Blackbird Tech LLC v. TomTom, Inc.

• Plaintiff: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Defendant: TomTom, Inc.
• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
• Case Number: 1:16-cv-00688
• Filing Date: August 4, 2016
• Outcome/Current Status: The outcome of this case is not specified in the available information, but it was likely influenced by the parallel PTAB proceedings.

4. Blackbird Tech LLC v. Wahoo Fitness, LLC

• Plaintiff: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Defendant: Wahoo Fitness, LLC
• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware
• Case Number: 1:16-cv-00689
• Filing Date: August 4, 2016
• Outcome/Current Status: This case was likely stayed pending the resolution of the PTAB challenges initiated by Wahoo Fitness.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Proceedings:

The validity of certain claims of the '212 patent was challenged through inter partes review (IPR) proceedings at the PTAB.

1. IPR2017-02012

• Petitioner: Fitbit, Inc.
• Patent Owner: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Filing Date: August 2017
• Outcome/Current Status: The PTAB issued a final written decision determining that Fitbit had proven claim 6 of the '212 patent was unpatentable for obviousness. However, the board upheld the patentability of claims 2 and 5, finding that Fitbit had not proven them to be unpatentable.

2. IPR2017-02023 & IPR2018-00275 (Consolidated)

• Petitioners: TomTom, Inc. and Wahoo Fitness LLC
• Patent Owner: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Filing Date: December 2017 (Wahoo's petition)
• Outcome/Current Status: Wahoo's petition, which relied on the same grounds as Fitbit's, was joined with the Fitbit proceeding. The consolidated cases ultimately resulted in the PTAB's decision that claim 6 was unpatentable, while claims 2 and 5 were not proven unpatentable.

Federal Circuit Appeal:

Blackbird Tech LLC v. Fitbit, Inc.

• Appellant: Blackbird Tech LLC
• Appellees: Fitbit, Inc. and Wahoo Fitness LLC
• Jurisdiction: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
• Case Number: 19-1879
• Decision Date: August 6, 2020
• Outcome: Blackbird appealed the PTAB's ruling on claim 6. The Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's decision that claim 6 of the '212 patent is unpatentable for obviousness. Fitbit and Wahoo did not appeal the decision regarding claims 2 and 5."}