Apple Slammed for ‘Fishing Expedition’ by Patent Case Funder

Omni Bridgeway LLC is continuing to fight Apple Inc. in its quest to force the litigation funder to turn over documents related to its role in a patent suit against the tech giant.

Apple’s demands are “burdensome” and based on “unfounded speculation,” Omni Bridgeway told a federal court in Delaware on Monday. The funder also said the requested information is not relevant to the suit, filed in California by Finnish patent owner MPH Technologies Oy.

Apple says Omni Bridgeway backed MPH in the now six-year-old case.

The company in early July asked the Delaware court to force the funder to answer questions and provide documents. Apple is seeking information “related to any assessments, including financial assessments, of one or more of the MPH patents” as well as any audits or valuations of MPH itself, among other items.

In its opposition, Omni called Apple’s requests a “fishing expedition” and said the company
has not met its burden to demonstrate relevance to the case.

“Without factual ties to the underlying litigation, Apple cannot establish that this discovery is relevant on any basis,” counsel for Omni Bridgeway wrote in the opposition.

Apple said in a July 3 court filing that Omni is connected to Finnish patent owner MPH Technologies Oy’s 2018 suit, which accuses Apple of infringing patents with its iMessage and FaceTime products.

The case, filed in a federal court in San Francisco, stalled for years as Apple challenged the patents’ validity at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Apple says it learned of Omni’s connection to the case during discovery, which began last year

The case is: Apple Inc. v. Omni Bridgeway (USA) LLC, D. Del., 24-mc-00330, 7/22/24