DCT
2:24-cv-00761
ServStor Tech LLC v. Broadcom Corp
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: ServStor Technologies LLC (Texas)
- Defendant: Broadcom Corporation (Delaware)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: Fabricant LLP; Rubino IP
- Case Identification: 2:24-cv-00761, E.D. Tex., 09/19/2024
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas because Defendant maintains a regular and established place of business in the district, has transacted business involving the accused products there, and has committed acts of alleged infringement in the district.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s networking and communications products, including Ethernet switches and wireless Systems-on-a-Chip (SoCs), infringe four patents related to methods for network data transfer, packet routing, and storage acceleration.
- Technical Context: The patents concern fundamental technologies for managing and accelerating data communication in networked environments, which is critical for data centers, 5G infrastructure, and wireless networking.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint does not mention any prior litigation, inter partes review proceedings, or licensing history related to the patents-in-suit.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2002-11-12 | Earliest Priority Date for ’773, ’476, ’814, and '473 Patents |
| 2009-10-13 | U.S. Patent No. 7,602,773 Issues |
| 2010-01-05 | U.S. Patent No. 7,643,476 Issues |
| 2010-03-30 | U.S. Patent No. 7,688,814 Issues |
| 2010-06-22 | U.S. Patent No. 7,742,473 Issues |
| 2024-09-19 | Complaint Filed |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 7,602,773 - “Transferring Data to a Target Device”
- Issued: October 13, 2009
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent’s background describes conventional layered communication protocols (e.g., TCP/IP) used to transmit data between devices, implying a need for more efficient and direct communication methods, particularly for systems with "disaggregated elements" like separate controllers and storage units spread across a network (’773 Patent, col. 1:12-30; col. 2:50-54).
- The Patented Solution: The invention provides communication protocols that allow one device to instruct a second device to initiate a data transfer with a third device across a network bridge (e.g., a NAT) (’773 Patent, col. 3:1-14). This is achieved by sending a first packet with a command and addresses for both the second and third devices, which then prompts the second device to transmit a second packet to effect the data transfer, facilitating peer-to-peer or third-party controlled data movement (’773 Patent, col. 25:1-20).
- Technical Importance: This approach enables more flexible and direct communication architectures in networked systems, which is foundational for modern Storage Area Networks (SANs) and disaggregated data center infrastructure (’773 Patent, col. 4:45-54).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 11 (Compl. ¶19).
- Claim 11 is directed to an apparatus comprising:
- A network interface to couple the apparatus to a network.
- Storage having a storage location.
- A controller configured to receive a first packet from a first device, where the packet includes a command and addresses corresponding to the apparatus's storage location and a second device's storage location.
- The controller is also configured to transmit a second packet to the second device to "effect a transfer of data between the storage location of the apparatus and the storage location of the second device."
- The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims.
U.S. Patent No. 7,643,476 - “Communication Protocols, Systems and Methods”
- Issued: January 5, 2010
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent addresses the need for efficient addressing schemes in networked systems where storage is disaggregated into distinct areas and blocks, a common architecture in networked storage (’476 Patent, col. 1:19-21; col. 7:4-8).
- The Patented Solution: The invention discloses a "split-id packet," which uses a hierarchical, two-part identifier to locate data. A first segment of the identifier, located in an outer "encapsulating" packet, corresponds to a larger "storage area" (e.g., a partition identified by an IP address). A second segment, located in an inner "encapsulated" packet, corresponds to a specific "storage block" within that area (e.g., a logical block address) (’476 Patent, Abstract; col. 6:42-53). This allows a single packet transmission to precisely target a specific data block within a specific storage partition on a remote device.
- Technical Importance: The split-identifier method provides a structured and efficient addressing protocol for managing data in complex, disaggregated storage systems, which is critical for routing and data management in large-scale networks (’476 Patent, col. 7:45-51).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 11 (Compl. ¶29).
- Claim 11 is directed to an apparatus comprising:
- A controller configured to generate a first packet with a control portion containing a "first identifier segment" corresponding to a remote storage area.
- The controller is also configured to generate a second packet with a control portion containing a "second identifier segment" corresponding to a storage block within that area.
- The controller encapsulates the second packet within the first packet.
- A network interface transmits the combined packet to the target device.
- The complaint does not explicitly reserve the right to assert dependent claims.
U.S. Patent No. 7,688,814 - “Methods of Conveying Information Using Fixed Sized Packets”
- Issued: March 30, 2010
- Technology Synopsis: The patent describes a method for improving data transfer efficiency between devices with mismatched native data block sizes (’814 Patent, Abstract). The invention generates a first packet with a data portion sized to match the smaller native block size of the target device, encapsulates this packet within a second packet, and uses a split-identifier for addressing (’814 Patent, col. 24:55-66).
- Asserted Claims: Independent claim 11 is asserted (Compl. ¶39).
- Accused Features: The Broadcom BCM88490 network switch is accused of generating and transmitting packets with data portions sized relative to a target device's block size and using a split-identifier scheme (Compl. ¶40).
U.S. Patent No. 7,742,473
- Technology Synopsis: This patent discloses a "stateless accelerator module" designed to speed up network storage communications by bypassing portions of the standard communication protocol stack (’473 Patent, col. 2:6-12). The module examines incoming packets, uses a stored "destination context" associated with the packet's address to determine how to handle it, and can pass the packet directly to an application, avoiding intermediate processing layers (’473 Patent, Abstract).
- Asserted Claims: Independent claim 13 is asserted (Compl. ¶49).
- Accused Features: The Broadcom BCM47722 WiFi SoC is accused of infringement. Its "SpeedBooster" feature is alleged to function as the claimed "accelerator module" that uses a destination context to bypass portions of a communication stack and accelerate packet transmission (Compl. ¶¶ 49-50).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
- The complaint names a wide range of Broadcom products, including SoCs, Ethernet controllers, switches, network adapters, and software (Compl. ¶13). The allegations focus specifically on the Broadcom BCM88490 StrataDNX Ethernet Switch Router Series and the Broadcom BCM47722 WiFi SoC (Compl. ¶¶ 19, 49).
Functionality and Market Context
- The Broadcom BCM88490 is described as a high-performance Ethernet switch router designed for demanding applications such as 5G mobile backhaul, data centers, and carrier networking (Compl. p. 7). A product brief included in the complaint highlights its capacity to process up to 2.4 Tb/s of traffic and its programmable packet processor (Compl. p. 7).
- The Broadcom BCM47722 is a communications processor for WiFi infrastructure (Compl. ¶49). The complaint identifies its "SpeedBooster™" feature, which marketing materials state "allows 160 MHz devices... to use the full 320 MHz access point capacity, thereby doubling Wi-Fi connection speed" (Compl. p. 18). The complaint alleges this feature functions as the claimed accelerator module (Compl. ¶50).
- The complaint alleges these products are key components in modern internet and storage infrastructure (Compl. ¶13).
IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations
U.S. Patent No. 7,602,773 Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 11) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| an apparatus comprising: a network interface configured to communicatively couple the apparatus to a network; | The Broadcom BCM88490 comprises a network interface configured to communicatively couple the apparatus to a network. | ¶20 | col. 8:45-47 |
| storage having a storage location; | The Broadcom BCM88490 comprises storage having a storage location. | ¶20 | col. 8:49-50 |
| a controller...configured to receive, from a first device via the network interface, a first packet including a command, a first address that corresponds to the storage location of the apparatus, and a second address that corresponds to a storage location of a second device; | The Broadcom BCM88490 includes a controller configured to receive a first packet containing a command and addresses corresponding to the apparatus's storage and a second device's storage. | ¶20 | col. 15:4-10 |
| and to transmit, to the second device via the network interface, a second packet to effect a transfer of data between the storage location of the apparatus and the storage location of the second device based at least in part on the command. | The Broadcom BCM88490's controller is configured to transmit a second packet to effectuate a data transfer between its own storage and the second device's storage based on the command. | ¶20 | col. 15:7-10 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: A central question may be whether a network switch like the BCM88490 constitutes an "apparatus" with its own "storage having a storage location" in the manner contemplated by the patent, or if its memory functions merely as transient buffers for routing packets between external devices.
- Technical Questions: What evidence does the complaint provide that the BCM88490's controller executes a "command" from a first device to actively initiate a data transfer between its own storage and a second device, as opposed to passively routing packets that are part of a transfer initiated and managed by other devices on the network?
U.S. Patent No. 7,643,476 Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 11) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| an apparatus comprising: a controller configured to generate a first packet with a control portion having a first identifier segment of a split identifier, the first identifier segment corresponding to a storage area of a target device... | The Broadcom BCM88490 includes a controller configured to generate a first packet with a control portion having a first identifier segment corresponding to a target device's storage area. | ¶30 | col. 6:45-49 |
| to generate a second packet with a control portion having a second identifier segment of the split identifier, the second identifier segment corresponding to a storage block of the storage area; | The controller is configured to generate a second packet with a second identifier segment corresponding to a specific storage block within that storage area. | ¶30 | col. 6:49-53 |
| and to encapsulate the second packet within the first packet; | The controller encapsulates the second packet within the first packet. | ¶30 | col. 6:42-45 |
| and a network interface coupled to the controller, and configured to transmit the first packet, with the encapsulated second packet, to the target device across the network. | The BCM88490 includes a network interface that transmits the encapsulated packet across the network to the target device. | ¶30 | col. 8:45-47 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: Does the addressing and encapsulation architecture used by the BCM88490 for routing and switching align with the specific "split identifier" structure claimed, which distinguishes between a "storage area" (identified in the outer packet) and a "storage block" (identified in the inner packet)?
- Technical Questions: What evidence demonstrates that the BCM88490's packet processing involves generating and encapsulating packets in the claimed manner, as opposed to forwarding packets that were already structured by an originating device?
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
For the ’773 Patent
- The Term: "storage having a storage location" (in the context of the accused apparatus).
- Context and Importance: The infringement theory hinges on the accused network switch itself being the claimed "apparatus" that possesses "storage." Practitioners may focus on this term because the nature of memory in a high-speed switch (typically for buffering and forwarding) may differ fundamentally from the "storage" (e.g., partitions on a disk) described in the patent's embodiments. The case could turn on whether the term is broad enough to cover packet buffers.
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The claims do not limit "storage" to a specific type (e.g., persistent, non-volatile). The term could be argued to encompass any memory where data is held, even transiently.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification repeatedly discusses storage in the context of "partitions on the hard disk," "logical block address," and "storage systems," which suggests a more persistent, addressable storage medium rather than temporary router buffers (’773 Patent, col. 7:30-38).
For the ’476 Patent
- The Term: "split identifier."
- Context and Importance: This term is the central inventive concept. Infringement requires mapping this claimed structure onto the packet formats used by the BCM88490. The dispute will likely focus on whether Broadcom's addressing scheme functionally matches the patent's two-level hierarchy of "storage area" and "storage block."
- Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent defines the term functionally as an identifier split between an encapsulating and an encapsulated packet (’476 Patent, col. 6:42-53). Plaintiff may argue any two-part, hierarchal address split across packet layers meets this definition.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification provides specific examples where the first segment is an IP address assigned to a storage area and the second is a Logical Block Address (LBA) for a block within it (’476 Patent, col. 8:33-41). Defendant may argue the term is limited to this IP-address/LBA paradigm, which may not be present in its switching architecture.
VI. Other Allegations
- Indirect Infringement: The complaint alleges induced infringement for all four patents. The allegations are based on Defendant supplying the accused products to customers and end-users along with "instructions on how to operate the infringing technology" through its website, product literature, and other publications (Compl. ¶¶ 23, 33, 43, 53).
- Willful Infringement: Willfulness is alleged for all four patents. The complaint asserts that Defendant remained "willfully blind to the Patents-in-Suit" by adopting a "policy of not reviewing the patents of others," and also alleges knowledge of infringement at least as of the filing date of the complaint (Compl. ¶¶ 22, 32, 42, 52).
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of technical mapping: do the functions of a general-purpose network switch, which primarily forwards packets between external devices, map onto the patent claims for an "apparatus" that possesses its own "storage location" and actively participates in data transfers as a peer endpoint?
- The case will also likely turn on a definitional scope question: can the term "split identifier," described in the patent with specific examples of IP addresses for storage areas and LBAs for storage blocks, be construed broadly enough to read on the hierarchical addressing and packet encapsulation schemes used in modern, high-throughput Ethernet switches?
- For the '473 patent, a key evidentiary question will be one of functional equivalence: does Broadcom’s "SpeedBooster" marketing term refer to a technology that performs the specific claimed function of bypassing a communication stack based on a stored "destination context," or does it represent a different type of wireless optimization that is technically distinct from the patented invention?