DCT
4:24-cv-00423
Communication Interface Tech LLC v. Pei Wei Asian Diner LLC
I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information
- Parties & Counsel:
- Plaintiff: Communication Interface Technologies, LLC (Delaware)
- Defendant: Pei Wei Asian Diner, LLC (Delaware)
- Plaintiff’s Counsel: SHEA | BEATY PLLC
- Case Identification: 4:24-cv-00423, E.D. Tex., 05/13/2024
- Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Eastern District of Texas because Defendant maintains multiple established places of business in the district, including a specific location in Allen, Texas.
- Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s Pei Wei App infringes three patents related to methods for efficiently maintaining and re-establishing communication sessions between a remote client device and a server.
- Technical Context: The technology addresses the challenge of providing a persistent connection experience for mobile applications without incurring the cost and resource drain of a continuously active physical connection.
- Key Procedural History: The complaint notes that the patents-in-suit have a significant litigation history, including current assertions against numerous other defendants in the same district. It also discloses prior litigation campaigns in the Eastern District of Texas and Central District of California, with all prior cases having been dismissed or settled before claim construction. The Plaintiff also states that there are more than 180 licensees to the patents.
Case Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1998-10-07 | ’239, ’296, and ’010 Patents Priority Date |
| 2003-06-03 | ’239 Patent Issue Date |
| 2012-09-11 | ’296 Patent Issue Date |
| 2012-10-16 | ’010 Patent Issue Date |
| 2016 (on or before) | Earliest Alleged Accused Product Publication Date |
| 2018-10-07 | ’239 Patent Expiration Date (approx.) |
| 2019-03-30 | ’296 and ’010 Patents Expiration Date (approx.) |
| 2024-05-13 | Complaint Filing Date |
II. Technology and Patent(s)-in-Suit Analysis
U.S. Patent No. 6,574,239 - "VIRTUAL CONNECTION OF A REMOTE UNIT TO A SERVER"
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent’s background section describes the high cost and inefficiency of maintaining a continuous physical connection (e.g., cellular or dial-up) for mobile users who require intermittent access to a central server. Constantly reconnecting was described as tedious, while maintaining a connection was expensive due to billable airtime (’239 Patent, col. 2:15-24, 2:36-44).
- The Patented Solution: The invention introduces a "virtual session" layer in the communication protocol that preserves the parameters and state of a communication session even after the underlying physical connection is terminated. This allows a remote unit to quickly re-establish the connection by reusing the saved parameters, bypassing a full, time-consuming re-negotiation process and giving the user the appearance of a seamless, persistent connection (’239 Patent, Abstract; col. 3:45-53; Fig. 5).
- Technical Importance: This method of session management was designed to reduce latency and data transmission costs for early mobile computing applications, thereby improving their usability and economic viability (Compl. ¶¶ 16-17).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 7 (Compl. ¶39).
- Essential Elements of Claim 7:
- Establishing a virtual session with a remote unit to support at least one application layer program.
- Placing the virtual session in an inactive state.
- Sending a signal indicative of an incoming communication request and an application-program identifying packet to the remote unit.
- Placing the virtual session back into the active state and transferring data between the application and the remote unit via the virtual session in response to the sending step.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶41).
U.S. Patent No. 8,266,296 - "APPLICATION-LAYER EVALUATION OF COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED BY A MOBILE DEVICE"
The Invention Explained
- Problem Addressed: The patent addresses the need for a server to efficiently initiate communication with a specific application on a remote mobile device that is not in a continuously active physical connection with the server (’296 Patent, col. 2:15-28).
- The Patented Solution: The invention discloses a method where a mobile device receives an "unsolicited communication" from a server. A control program on the mobile device then evaluates information contained within that communication at the application layer to identify a specific application program installed on the device. Based on that evaluation, it launches the identified application and reactivates a communication session between that application and the server (’296 Patent, Abstract; col. 1:1-2:4). This process is illustrated in the patent's description of evaluating a caller-ID type packet to select and reactivate an application (’296 Patent, Fig. 8; col. 24:39-62).
- Technical Importance: This technology is conceptually foundational to modern push notification systems, where a server-initiated message can trigger a specific application on a mobile device to become active and communicate with the server (Compl. ¶¶ 21-22).
Key Claims at a Glance
- The complaint asserts independent claim 1 and dependent claim 5 (Compl. ¶57).
- Essential Elements of Independent Claim 1:
- Receiving, at a control program on a mobile handset, a first communication initiated by a remote entity, where the communication was not in response to a request from the handset.
- The communication includes a set of information identifying an application layer program installed on the handset.
- The control program causes the handset to evaluate the set of information.
- In response to a determination that the information identifies the application layer program, the control program causes the handset to launch the program and reactivate a communication session from an inactive state.
- The complaint reserves the right to assert additional claims (Compl. ¶59).
U.S. Patent No. 8,291,010 - "VIRTUAL CONNECTION OF A REMOTE UNIT TO A SERVER"
Technology Synopsis
As a continuation of the application leading to the ’239 Patent, this patent also addresses maintaining a virtual connection between a remote unit and a server. It describes establishing a communication session, placing it into an inactive state, and subsequently reactivating the session in response to the server sending an unsolicited communication containing a packet that identifies a specific application program on the remote unit (’010 Patent, Abstract; Claim 1).
Asserted Claims
Independent claims 1 and 17 (Compl. ¶¶ 75, 76).
Accused Features
The complaint alleges that the Pei Wei App's system of using server-initiated push notifications to re-establish a communication link infringes this patent (Compl. ¶74).
III. The Accused Instrumentality
Product Identification
The accused instrumentality is the "Pei Wei App," a mobile device application available on platforms such as the Google Play and Apple App stores (Compl. ¶¶ 36, 54, 72).
Functionality and Market Context
- The complaint alleges that the Pei Wei App performs a method where wireless push notifications are sent from a remote server to the application over Transport Layer Security (TLS) sessions. The app and server also allegedly establish separate TLS connections for other client-server communications (Compl. ¶¶ 38, 56, 74).
- The complaint asserts that the app is used to coordinate products and services, enhance customer engagement, and increase operational efficiency for the Defendant (Compl. ¶23).
No probative visual evidence provided in complaint.
IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations
6,574,239 Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 7) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| establishing a virtual session with a remote unit, the virtual session being instantiated to support at least one application layer program; | The Pei Wei App establishes TLS sessions with a remote server, which allegedly function as the claimed virtual sessions to support the app's functionality (Compl. ¶¶ 23, 38). | ¶38 | col. 10:16-29 |
| placing the virtual session in an inactive state; | The complaint’s theory relies on the session becoming inactive when the physical connection is not actively maintained, a state from which it is later reactivated by a server-sent notification (Compl. ¶¶ 12, 15). | ¶15 | col. 11:1-12 |
| sending a signal indicative of an incoming communication request and an application-program identifying packet to said remote unit... | The remote server allegedly sends wireless push notifications to the user’s device, which serve as the signal and inherently identify the Pei Wei App as the intended recipient (Compl. ¶38). | ¶38 | col. 23:18-34 |
| placing the virtual session back into the active state and transferring data between the application and the remote unit via the virtual session... | Upon receipt of the push notification, the app allegedly re-establishes an active communication link with the server to transfer data, such as loyalty information or order updates (Compl. ¶¶ 23, 38). | ¶38 | col. 10:35-44 |
8,266,296 Infringement Allegations
| Claim Element (from Independent Claim 1) | Alleged Infringing Functionality | Complaint Citation | Patent Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| receiving, at a control program executing on a mobile handset, a first communication initiated by a remote entity... wherein initiation of the first communication... was not in response to a request sent by the mobile handset; | The Pei Wei App running on a user's mobile device receives unsolicited push notifications initiated by the Pei Wei server (Compl. ¶56). | ¶56 | col. 29:32-41 |
| the first communication includes a set of information identifying an application layer program that is installed on the mobile handset; | The push notification contains routing information used by the mobile operating system to identify and deliver the message to the specific Pei Wei App (Compl. ¶56). | ¶56 | col. 29:36-38 |
| the control program causing the mobile handset to evaluate the set of information included in the first communication; | The mobile OS and the Pei Wei App's own code allegedly evaluate the received notification to determine the appropriate action (Compl. ¶56). | ¶56 | col. 29:42-44 |
| in response to determining... that the set of information identifies the application layer program, the control program causing the mobile handset to: launch the application layer program; and reactivate, from an inactive state, a communication session... | The push notification causes the mobile device to make the Pei Wei App active and re-establish a data connection with the server (Compl. ¶56). | ¶56 | col. 29:45-51 |
Identified Points of Contention
- Scope Questions: A central question for the ’239 and ’010 Patents may be whether a modern "TLS session," which is managed by standardized transport protocols, constitutes a "virtual session" as that term is described in the patents' specifications from the late 1990s. The analysis may turn on whether the accused sessions are maintained in a special "table structure" by a "virtual session server" acting as a proxy agent, as described in the patent, or if they are managed differently.
- Technical Questions: For the ’296 Patent, a key issue may be identifying which entity performs the claimed "evaluation" of the incoming communication. The infringement analysis raises the question of whether the mobile operating system's routing of a push notification to the pre-registered Pei Wei App satisfies this limitation, or if the claim requires the application's own code to perform a more substantive analysis of the notification's contents to identify itself.
V. Key Claim Terms for Construction
The Term: "virtual session"
Context and Importance: This term is the core concept of the ’239 and ’010 Patents. Its construction will be critical to determining whether modern communication protocols, which did not exist when the patent was filed, fall within the scope of the claims. Practitioners may focus on this term because the Defendant may argue that modern TLS sessions, managed by the OS and standardized libraries, are technically distinct from the specific proxy-based "virtual session server" architecture described in the patent.
Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The specification provides a functional definition, stating a virtual session may be "suspended with some or all of the lower layers of the protocol stack missing" and can be "maintained while a physical layer connection has been removed" (’239 Patent, col. 10:30-34).
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification describes a specific architecture, where a "virtual session server" (215) acts as a "proxy agent" and uses a "table structure" (225) to link application sessions to virtual sessions. The detailed description of Figure 1A also places a distinct "REMOTE UNIT VIRTUAL SESSION" layer (154) in the protocol stack (’239 Patent, Fig. 1A; col. 10:45-56).
The Term: "evaluating the set of information"
Context and Importance: This term from claim 1 of the ’296 Patent is central to the infringement analysis for that patent. The dispute may center on whether the actions performed by the accused app constitute "evaluation," or if that function is primarily handled by the mobile device's operating system.
Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation:
- Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: The patent does not explicitly limit how the evaluation must be performed, suggesting that any processing of the incoming information by the app to determine a subsequent action could meet the limitation.
- Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The patent's flow chart in Figure 8 shows a specific step of "EVALUATE CALLER-ID" (810) followed by "SELECT/ACTIVATE APPLICATION" (815), which may suggest a more active process of parsing and selection by the application itself, rather than simply being activated by the operating system (’296 Patent, Fig. 8; col. 24:39-56).
VI. Other Allegations
The complaint does not contain specific factual allegations supporting claims for indirect or willful infringement.
VII. Analyst’s Conclusion: Key Questions for the Case
- A core issue will be one of definitional scope: can the term "virtual session," rooted in a 1998 disclosure describing a specific proxy-server architecture for managing dial-up and early wireless connections, be construed to cover modern, OS-managed TLS sessions used by mobile applications? The outcome may depend on whether the term is defined by its function (maintaining a session without a physical link) or by the specific structure disclosed to perform that function.
- A key evidentiary question will be one of locus of action: for the ’296 Patent, does the accused Pei Wei App itself perform the claimed step of "evaluating" an incoming push notification to identify itself for activation, or is this function primarily performed by the mobile operating system, potentially creating a mismatch with the claim's requirement that the "control program" performs the evaluation?