VIZIO announced the United States District Court of the Central District of California, Hon. Mariana Pfaelzer presiding, granted summary judgment of invalidity on a patent held by Lochner Technologies LLC, ruling all the asserted claims are invalid.
"We are gratified that the ill-advised tactics of the patent troll community continue to falter and are being rejected by the U.S. authorities. The court's most recent ruling is yet another vindication of VIZIO's position, in a long list of VIZIO victories in battling patent trolls and the apparent extortion attempts," said Jerry Huang, VIZIO General Counsel, Vice President of Legal Affairs. "As an intellectual property rights owner, VIZIO respects such rights and their proper exercise. VIZIO has demonstrated its commitment to thwart the advancement of the abusive practices of the patent troll community and shall continue to vigorously defend meritless lawsuits that have no application to VIZIO products," stated Huang.
The Lochner ruling marks the seventh notable recent VIZIO NPE (non-practicing entity) victory. Other exemplary wins are listed below:
Advanced Display Technology (E.D. TX) - dismissal with prejudice for $0. Azure Networks (E.D. TX) – joint motion for dismissal (non-infringement) pending. E-Contact Technologies (E.D. TX) – dismissal with prejudice for $0. Plaintiff to pay costs. MMIT (C.D. CA) - Dismissal with prejudice. Patent Harbor (E.D. TX) – won claim construction dispositive of non-infringement, stipulated judgment of non-infringement. Walker Digital (D. DE & ITC) – withdrew ITC complaint by Walker Digital on the eve of the ITC hearing for $0.
VIZIO's victory in the Lochner case also came on the heels of the creation of White House Task Force on High Tech Patent Issues by President Obama. "We are encouraged by the administration's decision to attack the patent trolling epidemic that has eroded American industries and to bring the much needed reform and restoration to the whole system," stated Rob Brinkman, VIZIO Chief Administrative Officer. VIZIO is a leading American consumer electronics company with products distributed through all major retailers in the United States. "We look forward to a fair market place, free from troll taxes, as VIZIO continues its commitment to bring the best value in technology and innovation to American consumers," added Brinkman.