Samsung Loses Bid to Delay Texas Patent Trial for ITC Review

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd can’t delay a Texas patent infringement trial against AGIS Software Development LLC until the US International Trade Commission concludes its investigation in a related case, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Samsung suggested a pause could conserve legal resources because the ITC investigation might resolve an infringement dispute that involves the same four patents and same products AGIS has challenged in a companion case in the US District Court for the Northern District of California.

AGIS disagreed, noting the ITC’s probe is focused on Google applications that aren’t at stake in the Texas case and includes a fifth patent only challenged in California.

Magistrate Judge Roy S. Payne of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas agreed with AGIS that the two actions don’t overlap enough for him to pause the Texas trial, which is currently set for March.

“While the ITC investigation could involve similar facts as the instant case, it is unlikely that the results of the investigation will simplify the work before the court due to difference in issues,” Payne said in a five-page order.

AGIS sued Samsung in July 2022 on allegations the Korean electronics giant violated US Patent Nos. 8,213,970, 9,467,838, 9,749,829 and 9,820,123. The ‘970 patent is generally directed to communication networks for forced message alerts, according to Payne’s order, while the remaining patents are “continuations claiming priority to the same parent, sharing the same specification and generally directed to ad hoc communication networks.”

AGIS was created by a former US Marine after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The founder claims he invented a better way to integrate hardware and software components on mobile communications devices to boost “situational awareness” in military and first-responder radio systems. AGIS’s LifeRing system integrates GPS technology to let mobile phone users exchange their location, heading, and speed with others in a group, while simultaneously viewing group members’ locations on maps and satellite images, according to the initial complaint.

Since mid-2017, AGIS has filed more than two dozen patent infringement lawsuits in federal court in Marshall, Texas, with roughly half of those cases still pending.

AGIS is represented by Fabricant LLP and McKool Smith PC. Samsung is represented by O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Baker Botts LLP, Gillam & Smith LLP, and Mann Tindel Thompson.

The case is AGIS Software Development LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., E.D. Tex., 2:22-cv-00263, Order issued. 8/21/23