HTC, LG, ASUSTeK, Pantech joins Samsung

   Previously, I discussed the relevance of eastern Texas for patent lawsuits of NPE. In recent event, it is interesting to see the update on the status of  the Rockstar lawsuit in eastern Texas that companies like Google and ASUSTeK has to face. It seems the companies have made some progress in responding to the lawsuit by claiming to dismiss. Google and many of the other companies wish to continue the case in northern California (to establish first to file outside of Texas). Again, the location has become more relevant as the Rockstar case has progressed. The main issue is having the case either dismissed or transferred to a different area outside of Texas. Of course, Rockstar is attempting to keep it in Texas for a more favorable outcome.

Interestingly, Google is trying to fight the lawsuits through a different angle by stating Rockstar's claims involves more companies beyond the Android system. The argument is to insinuate hardware is being infringed upon and not the software. In this situation, Google would benefit more since the fault would lie more on the device manufacturer rather than the Android OS. The use of the customer-suit exception by Google may be invalid since the rule is only valid for resellers of the Android device. As a result, the lawsuit is still trying to be resolved since the debate is now whether Rockstar's claims should be dismissed based on the broad claims of the infringement. Dealing with larger corporations, it may be difficult to see what is the correct route since letting the big companies win could be problematic. The decision of this court case may determine the future of some of these rules such as the customer-suit and how the USPTO may possibly deal with these matters.

http://www.fosspatents.com/2014/02/htc-lg-asustek-pantech-join-samsung-in.html