Uniloc 2017 LLC v. Kik Interactive Inc

I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information

• Parties & Counsel:
  • Plaintiff: Uniloc 2017 LLC (Delaware)
  • Defendant: Kik Interactive, Inc. (Canada)
  • Plaintiff’s Counsel: Etheridge Law Group, PLLC
• Case Identification: 2:19-cv-00150, E.D. Tex., 05/01/2019
• Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper because Defendant has committed acts of infringement in the district, transacted business there, and offered its products to customers in Texas.
• Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s Kik Messenger application and associated system infringe a patent related to methods for initiating and managing mobile instant messaging conference sessions.
• Technical Context: The lawsuit concerns the underlying architecture for establishing multi-user chat sessions on mobile devices, a core feature of modern messaging platforms.
• Key Procedural History: The complaint notes that the patent-in-suit was examined against more than 60 prior art references from major technology companies, a fact that may be raised to underscore the patent's presumed validity.

Case Timeline

II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,672,255 - MOBILE INSTANT MESSAGING CONFERENCING METHOD AND SYSTEM, Issued March 2, 2010

The Invention Explained

• Problem Addressed: The patent describes challenges in the mobile environment for instant messaging (IM) that were prevalent at the time of the invention. These included the difficulty of establishing multi-user "conferencing" sessions and the limitations of peer-to-peer connections, which could fail when users were on different carrier networks that used private IP addresses (’255 Patent, col. 1:21-40, col. 2:1-12).
• The Patented Solution: The patent proposes a server-based system to bridge these gaps. An "initiating" mobile device first establishes a reliable connection (e.g., TCP) with a central, publicly accessible server. The server then provides "session identifying information" (such as a unique port number or a session ID) back to the initiator. The initiator then sends an invitation containing the server’s network address and this session information to "participating" devices using a separate, "page-mode messaging service" like SMS, which can locate recipients via their unique phone numbers. Upon receiving the invitation, the participating devices use the provided information to connect to the central server, thereby joining the conference session, with the server managing the message flow between all participants (’255 Patent, col. 2:15-54; Fig. 3).
• Technical Importance: This server-mediated approach aimed to provide a reliable method for cross-carrier mobile group messaging, using ubiquitous technologies like SMS to bootstrap a more advanced, session-based chat.

Key Claims at a Glance

• The complaint asserts infringement of at least independent claim 1 (Compl. ¶26).
• The essential elements of independent claim 1, a method performed on an initiating mobile device, include:
  • Transmitting a request to a server's network address and listening port to establish a reliable session-based connection.
  • Establishing that connection.
  • Requesting "conference identifying information" from the server to identify the session to other participants.
  • Receiving that information from the server.
  • Generating an invitation message containing the server's network address and the conference identifying information.
  • Transmitting the invitation to a participating mobile device via a "page-mode messaging service," using a "unique identification number" (e.g., phone number) to locate the participant.
  • Participating in the conference session through the connection with the server to communicate with the now-connected participant.
• The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims but does reserve the right to pursue infringement by other "reasonably similar" software (Compl. ¶30).

III. The Accused Instrumentality

Product Identification

• The "Accused Infringing Devices" are collectively identified as the "Kik" mobile application and the associated system that provides its group instant messaging/group chat service (Compl. ¶11).

Functionality and Market Context

• The complaint describes the Kik app as a mobile application for iOS and Android that enables group chat sessions over the internet using Wi-Fi or cellular data connections (Compl. ¶¶12, 13). The allegedly infringing functionality involves the process where a "host" user creates a group, establishes a session with a Kik server, and then invites other participants to the group chat. This invitation can be sent via text message containing a unique URL generated by the Kik system (Compl. ¶¶16, 18, 20). One visual provided in the complaint shows instructions for inviting friends to a group by sharing a group link (Compl. p. 10). The complaint alleges the app is a commercially offered product available to customers in the United States (Compl. ¶¶3, 11).

IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations

’255 Patent Infringement Allegations

• Identified Points of Contention:
  • Scope Questions: A central question may be whether the term "conference identifying information," described in the patent as a "new listening port number" or a "session identification number" (’255 Patent, col. 7:26-31), can be construed to read on the "group invitation link/URL" generated by the Kik server (Compl. ¶22).
  • Technical Questions: The infringement theory relies on equating the transmission of a URL within an SMS to the claimed step of transmitting "the server's network address and the conference identifying information" through a page-mode service. A court may need to determine if providing a hyperlink, which requires user interaction to resolve and connect, is functionally the same as providing the direct address and session data as contemplated by the patent.

V. Key Claim Terms for Construction

• The Term: "page-mode messaging service"

• Context and Importance: This term is critical because the patent's novelty relies on using one type of communication channel (page-mode) to set up another (session-based). The complaint alleges that SMS is such a service (Compl. ¶24). The scope of this term will define what kinds of invitation delivery methods fall within the claims.

• Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

  • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The specification consistently uses "e.g., SMS," which may suggest that SMS is merely an example of a broader category of services and not a limiting definition (’255 Patent, col. 7:35-37).
  • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The detailed description of how the service functions relies on the underlying cellular network's ability to locate a device using its phone number to deliver a short message, a core characteristic of SMS and similar protocols of that era (’255 Patent, col. 4:4-26). An argument could be made that the term is tied to services with this specific technical mechanism.

• The Term: "conference identifying information"

• Context and Importance: The infringement case hinges on whether Kik's invitation URL constitutes this type of information. Practitioners may focus on this term because the patent provides specific examples that are arguably different in form from a web link.

• Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:

  • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The term itself is general. The patent states the information is used "to identify the conferencing session" (’255 Patent, col. 8:43-44), a function that the allegedly infringing Kik URL performs (Compl. ¶23).
  • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent provides specific examples, such as "a new listening port number . . . opened by the server or a session identification number" (’255 Patent, col. 2:28-31). A party could argue that these examples limit the term to specific data parameters (a port, a session ID) rather than a composite URL that must be resolved by a separate system (DNS).

VI. Other Allegations

• Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges induced infringement, stating that Kik "intentionally instructs its customers to infringe" by providing user guides and other instructional materials. It provides several URLs to Kik's website as evidence of these instructions (Compl. ¶27). The complaint also pleads contributory infringement, alleging the accused system is a material part of the invention and not a staple article of commerce (Compl. ¶28).
• Willful Infringement: The complaint alleges that Kik will have notice of the ’255 Patent "since, at the latest, the service of this complaint" and that its continued actions would constitute willful infringement (Compl. ¶29). This frames the willfulness claim as being based on post-suit conduct.

VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case

• A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the term "conference identifying information," which the patent exemplifies as a port or session ID, be construed to cover the group invitation URL generated by the accused Kik system? The outcome of this construction may be dispositive for infringement.
• A second key question will be one of technical and functional mapping: does the accused multi-step process—where a user sends an SMS containing a hyperlink that a recipient must manually click to launch an app that then connects to a server—align with the patent's more direct description of transmitting server and session data via a "page-mode messaging service" for the recipient device to then establish a connection? The degree of user intermediation in the accused process compared to the process described in the patent will likely be a significant point of dispute.
• Finally, the case may turn on the interpretation of the phrase "located by providing... a unique identification number." A central question is whether this claim language requires the "page-mode messaging service" to actively use the unique ID (e.g., phone number) for network-level device routing, as SMS does, or if it is met simply by using the number as an address for a message that a user then acts upon.