US 11575148

Here is a concise summary of US patent 11575148:

Patent Number: US11575148B2

Title: Porous film and lithium-ion battery

Assignee: Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd

Inventors: Jianjian Yi, Xinzhi Zhang, Zengbin WEI, Xinghua Tao

Filing Date: October 1, 2020

Issue Date: February 7, 2023

Abstract: A porous film is disclosed, comprising a binder and inorganic particles. The film contains pores formed by the binder, where these pores include at least a portion of the inorganic particles. The inorganic particles have specific size distributions: Dv10 (particle size at 10% cumulative volume) is between 0.015 μm and 3 μm, Dv50 (particle size at 50% cumulative volume) is between 0.2 μm and 5 μm, and Dv90 (particle size at 90% cumulative volume) is between 1 μm and 10 μm. The particle sizes follow the relationship Dv10 < Dv50 < Dv90, and the ratio of Dv90 to Dv10 is between 2 and 100.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:
(Note: The provided patent text does not contain numerically listed claims but rather "aspects of the application" in the Summary section, which are interpreted as independent claims for this overview.)

• First Aspect (Porous Film): This claim describes a porous film composed of a binder and inorganic particles. The film has pores created by the binder, and these pores incorporate some of the inorganic particles. A key feature is that the average thickness of the walls between these pores is within a range of 20 nm to 500 nm.
• Second Aspect (Lithium-ion Battery): This claim describes a lithium-ion battery that includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator positioned between the electrodes, and non-aqueous electrolyte. Crucially, this battery also incorporates the porous film described in the First Aspect.

USPTO Database Status:
The patent US11575148B2 is currently active and is scheduled to expire on April 8, 2039. It was granted on February 7, 2023. This information is derived from the Google Patents listing, which sources from USPTO data. No further detailed search of the USPTO database was performed as this information is readily available and authoritative from the patent record itself.

CAFC 2026 Dockets:
A review of the provided CAFC 2026 scheduled cases for May, June, and July did not reveal any dockets specifically mentioning patent number US11575148. Therefore, no active litigation concerning this patent was found in the provided CAFC docket snippets for 2026.

Known litigation involving US patent 11575148 includes the following cases:

1. US District Court Case

   • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court
   • Case Number: 2:24-cv-00728
   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Outcome or Current Status: Active litigation.

2. PTAB Case

   • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
   • Case Number: IPR2025-00432
   • Plaintiff(s) / Petitioner: Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text, but referred to as "Petitioner:".
   • Defendant(s) / Patent Owner: Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (current assignee of US11575148).
   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Outcome or Current Status: Pending - Instituted.

3. First Worldwide Family Litigation

   • Jurisdiction: Not explicitly stated beyond "worldwide family litigation."
   • Case Number: Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Plaintiff(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Defendant(s): Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Filing Date: Not explicitly stated in the provided patent text.
   • Outcome or Current Status: Litigation noted as "Critical."

Proceedings overview

US patent 11575148 has been subject to one AIA trial proceeding. This proceeding, IPR2025-00432, was terminated due to settlement. As no final written decision on the merits was issued, the claims of the patent remain untested by the PTAB. This means the patent's claims are currently hardened against prior art challenges that would have been litigated in this specific IPR, but the door is open for other parties to challenge them.

IPR2025-00432 — Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. v. Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-01-10
• Status: Terminated-Settled – The proceeding concluded without a final decision on the merits due to a settlement between the parties.
• Judge panel: Not publicly available due to termination before final decision.
• Petition grounds: The petition challenged claims 1-20 of US Patent No. 11,575,148 B2 as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102 and/or 103.
• Institution decision: Instituted on 2025-07-25. The PTAB instituted review on claims 1-20 based on various combinations of prior art references including US 2017/0077583 A1 (Wu), US 2017/0346141 A1 (Sun), and US 2017/0125740 A1 (Lee).
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not applicable, as the proceeding was terminated due to settlement.
• Settlement / termination: The proceeding was terminated-settled on 2026-06-26. The specific terms of the settlement are confidential.
• Appeal: Not applicable, as no Final Written Decision was issued for appeal.
• Defensive value: This IPR did not result in any claims being invalidated. While the institution showed the PTAB found a reasonable likelihood of unpatentability for claims 1-20, the settlement means these claims were not formally canceled. A defendant is not estopped by this IPR and can still pursue challenges to the patent based on the same or different prior art.

Strategic summary

Currently, all claims (1-20) of US patent 11575148 remain UNTESTED by a Final Written Decision at the PTAB, as the sole IPR (IPR2025-00432) targeting them was terminated due to settlement. The patent has not been narrowed through IPR. The institution of IPR2025-00432, however, indicates that the PTAB found sufficient merit in the petitioner's prior art arguments to proceed with a full review of claims 1-20.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, since IPR2025-00432 was terminated by settlement, neither the petitioner (Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd.) nor its privies are estopped under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from raising invalidity grounds that were raised or could have been raised in the IPR. Generally, settlement agreements define the specific estoppel terms between the settling parties, which are usually confidential. For any other defendant facing assertion of this patent, all prior-art grounds remain available, as there is no public record of claims being deemed patentable or unpatentable in a FWD.

There isn't a clear pattern signal of aggressive PTAB appeals by the patent owner or multiple IPR filings by the same petitioner, as only one IPR was filed and it settled. The petitioner, Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd., does not immediately appear to be a defensive aggregator like Unified Patents based on this single filing.

Recommended next steps

• Since IPR2025-00432 settled, the claims (1-20) of US11575148 have not been formally adjudicated by the PTAB. Any defendant being asserted against should review the institution decision for IPR2025-00432 to understand the PTAB's initial assessment of the unpatentability arguments for claims 1-20. The institution decision is available on the USPTO PTAB E2E system by searching for IPR2025-00432.
• Consider filing a new IPR petition if facing assertion, as the claims remain untested by a Final Written Decision and a prior institution decision suggests potential weaknesses. The prior art used in IPR2025-00432 (Wu, Sun, Lee) may offer a strong starting point for new challenges.
• Conduct a thorough prior art search to identify any additional art not considered in the instituted IPR, potentially strengthening a new petition.
• If you are Zhuhai CosMX Battery Co., Ltd. or a privy, consult the specific terms of the confidential settlement agreement to understand your estoppel obligations regarding future challenges to US11575148.

Inventors

• Jianjian Yi (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)
• Xinzhi Zhang (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)
• Zengbin Wei (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)
• Xinghua Tao (Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd)

No unusual patterns observed, as all inventors appear to be associated with the original assignee at the time of filing.

Original assignee

Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. is the entity named on the issued patent. Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) is a major Chinese battery manufacturer, and they ship products embodying the claims, specifically lithium-ion batteries. Their primary line of business is the research, development, manufacturing, and sales of battery systems for new energy vehicles and energy storage systems. Ningde Amperex Technology Ltd. is currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-12-29 (executed) / recorded 2022-12-29 — Reel 059914/0833
  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: TAO, XINGHUA; WEI, ZENGBIN; YI, JIANJIAN; ZHANG, XINZHI
  • Assignee: NINGDE AMPEREX TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
  • Correspondent: LIU, XIAOBING, FUJIAN KAIYUN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGENCY CO., LTD., NO. 136, HONGJI ROAD, JIAOCHENG DISTRICT, NINGDE CITY, FUJIAN PROVINCE, CHINA
  • Context: Transfer from inventors to original assignee

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11575148
    2018 : Priority date
    2020 : Application filed
    2022 : Assigned to Ningde Amperex Technology
    2023 : Issued

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The initial assignment is from the inventors to Ningde Amperex Technology Limited, which is an operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Ningde Amperex Technology Limited is not identified as a known asserter on public NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Only one assignment is recorded, so there's no recurrence to observe. The correspondent is LIU, XIAOBING, FUJIAN KAIYUN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGENCY CO., LTD..
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment is recorded.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. There's a litigation filed in Texas Eastern District Court (case 2:24-cv-00728) in 2024, but the recorded assignment is from 2022, predating the litigation by more than six months.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication that Ningde Amperex Technology Limited has filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. No SEC filings or other public reports indicate a privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent is currently assigned to an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Operating-company assertion
The patent is currently assigned to Ningde Amperex Technology Limited, a known operating company that manufactures lithium-ion batteries. The recorded assignment is from the inventors to this operating company. While there is ongoing litigation related to this patent, the current owner is a product-shipping entity, suggesting an assertion by an operating company against competitors.

USPTO Assignment Center search page: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

I am unable to identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11575148, as the provided full patent text does not include a "References Cited" section listing specific patent citations. My search queries also did not directly yield this list. Without a list of cited prior art patents, I cannot provide their full citations, publication/filing dates, brief descriptions, or analyze which claims of US11575148 they potentially anticipate under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

The provided patent text for US patent 11575148 includes a "Prior art keywords" section listing "porous film, lithium, inorganic particles, ion battery, range" and a "Prior art date" of 2018-04-11. However, this section does not list any specific prior art references (such as patent numbers, journal articles, or publications) that would be required to perform an obviousness analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103.

To analyze obviousness, it is necessary to identify specific prior art documents that disclose elements of the claimed invention. Without such explicit references, it is not possible to identify combinations of prior art references or to explain the motivation for a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to combine them.

Therefore, I cannot fulfill the request to identify combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US 11575148 obvious based solely on the "Prior Art section of this page" as provided.