DCT

6:21-cv-00107

Tot Power Control SL v. AT&T Inc

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Key Events
Amended Complaint

I. Executive Summary and Procedural Information

  • Parties & Counsel:
  • Case Identification: 6:21-cv-00107, W.D. Tex., 06/19/2025
  • Venue Allegations: Plaintiff alleges venue is proper in the Western District of Texas because Defendant maintains regular and established places of business in the district, including retail stores and CDMA-based wireless network infrastructure such as cellular towers.
  • Core Dispute: Plaintiff alleges that Defendant’s WCDMA-based wireless networks infringe a patent related to methods and apparatus for outer loop power control in wireless communication systems.
  • Technical Context: The technology at issue concerns the dynamic adjustment of power levels in 3G cellular networks to manage signal interference, maintain quality of service, and optimize network capacity.
  • Key Procedural History: The complaint is an Amended Complaint that follows the Plaintiff's service of infringement contentions on June 13, 2025. The case also involves Intervenor-Defendants Nokia of America Corporation and Ericsson Inc., who are identified as suppliers of the accused base station equipment.

Case Timeline

Date Event
2005-08-17 U.S. Patent No. 7,496,376 Priority Date
2009-02-24 U.S. Patent No. 7,496,376 Issue Date
2025-06-13 Plaintiff served infringement contentions
2025-06-19 Amended Complaint Filing Date

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

U.S. Patent No. 7,496,376 - “Outer Loop Power Control Method and Apparatus for Wireless Communications Systems”

  • Patent Identification: U.S. Patent No. 7,496,376 (“Outer Loop Power Control Method and Apparatus for Wireless Communications Systems”), issued February 24, 2009. (Compl. ¶13).

The Invention Explained

  • Problem Addressed: In wireless communication systems like WCDMA, conventional "outer loop power control" (OLPC) adjusts a mobile device's transmission power to meet a target quality, often measured by a Block Error Rate (BLER). The patent asserts that this traditional BLER-based adjustment method is slow to react to dynamic changes in channel conditions, leading to inefficient power usage and wasted network capacity, particularly after a "wind-up" event where signal degradation causes the system to request excessive power. (’376 Patent, col. 3:1-21; Compl. ¶¶11-12).
  • The Patented Solution: The invention proposes a more sophisticated OLPC method that establishes the target signal-to-interference ratio (SIRTarget) using multiple inputs beyond just the BLER. The system calculates "fading margins" based on "outage probabilities" and uses a "dynamic adjusting function" (disclosed as preferably a neural network) to map these inputs, along with the BLER target and data block status, to a new SIRTarget. This allows the system to adapt power levels more rapidly and precisely to the actual propagation conditions of the channel. (’376 Patent, Abstract, col. 6:12-24; Compl. ¶16).
  • Technical Importance: This approach aims to provide a more precise and rapid method for managing power control, which is critical for maximizing user capacity and maintaining service quality in interference-limited networks like WCDMA. (Compl. ¶17).

Key Claims at a Glance

  • The complaint asserts infringement of claims including independent claims 1 and 6, with a focus on claim 6 in its exemplary allegations. (Compl. ¶¶22, 24).
  • Independent Claim 6 (Apparatus Claim) requires:
    • An outer loop power control apparatus with at least one programmable electronic device operable to perform several steps, including:
    • establishing a target block error rate (BLERtarget);
    • calculating an estimate of a received signal to interference ratio (SIRrec) and fading parameters;
    • estimating fading margins associated with outage probabilities and fading parameters;
    • indicating a status of data blocks based on a Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC) check; and
    • establishing a target SIR (SIRtarget) based on the data block status, the fading margins, and the BLERtarget by means of a dynamic adjusting function that maps between quality criteria based on outage probabilities and the BLERtarget.
      (Compl. ¶20, quoting ’376 Patent, col. 15:28-col. 16:2).
  • The complaint notes that infringement is not limited to Claims 1 and 6. (Compl. ¶22).

III. The Accused Instrumentality

Product Identification

The accused instrumentalities are Defendant’s WCDMA-based wireless networks, specifically the WCDMA base transmission stations (“BTS”) used within those networks. These BTS are alleged to include Radio Network Controllers (“RNC”) and Node-Bs. (Compl. ¶24).

Functionality and Market Context

The complaint alleges that the accused BTS are comprised of processors that manage the outer loop power control processes for Defendant's WCDMA network. (Compl. ¶25). These stations are alleged to perform the patented method by setting a configurable BLER target, measuring the received SIR, estimating fading by comparing received SIR to target SIR, and adjusting the target SIR based on CRC errors and calculated "fading margin values." (Compl. ¶¶26-31). The complaint identifies Intervenors Nokia and Ericsson, along with Alcatel-Lucent, as suppliers of this equipment to the Defendant. (Compl. ¶24).

IV. Analysis of Infringement Allegations

Claim Chart Summary

The complaint alleges that Defendant’s WCDMA BTS infringe at least Claim 6 of the ’376 Patent.

’376 Patent Infringement Allegations

Claim Element (from Independent Claim 6) Alleged Infringing Functionality Complaint Citation Patent Citation
An outer loop power control apparatus for wireless communications systems, comprising at least one programmable electronic device the programmable electronic device operable to... perform the steps of: Defendant’s WCDMA BTS are comprised of processors that manage the inner loop power control and outer loop power control processes for the WCDMA network. ¶25 col. 15:28-32
establishing a target block error rate (BLERtarget), Defendant’s WCDMA BTS maintain a configurable parameter for the Block Error Rate Target as a percentage of an acceptable error rate. ¶26 col. 15:33-34
calculating an estimate (701) of a desired signal to interference ratio (SIRrec) and of some fading parameters in a channel (706) which characterize the data signal (107, 108) received, Defendant’s WCDMA BTS measure the received SIR value (SIRRec) and estimate fading by comparing measured SIRRec values to SIRTarget values to generate error values. ¶¶27-28 col. 15:35-39
estimating some fading margins (M1, M2, . . ., MN) associated with some outage probabilities (po1, po2, . . ., poN) and with the fading parameters in the channel (706), Defendant’s WCDMA BTS allegedly use a collection of SIR error values to determine a distribution over time and calculate a fading margin associated with an outage probability. The complaint provides an exemplary graph illustrating an "SIR Error Distribution" curve, from which an "Outage Probability" and a "Fading Margin" are derived. (Compl. p. 12). ¶29 col. 15:40-44
indicating a status of the data blocks (707) based on the checking of a Cyclic Redundancy Code (CRC), Defendant's WCDMA BTS adjust the SIRTarget value based on block/frame errors indicated by Cyclic Redundancy Check errors. ¶30 col. 15:45-47
and establishing a target desired signal to interference ratio (SIRtarget)... based on said status of the data blocks (707), the fading margins (M1, M2, MN) and the target block error (BLERtarget)... by means of a dynamic adjusting function which performs a mapping... Defendant’s WCDMA BTS are alleged to adjust the SIRTarget value using the calculated fading margin values in addition to modifying it based on the BLER. ¶31 col. 15:48-col. 16:2

Identified Points of Contention

  • Scope Questions: A central dispute may concern the scope of the term "dynamic adjusting function which performs a mapping." The patent specification describes this function in terms of a two-layer neural network that explicitly maps a quality criterion based on outage probabilities to a quality criterion based on BLER. (’376 Patent, col. 6:12-50, Fig. 5). The infringement analysis raises the question of whether the accused functionality—alleged as adjusting the SIRTarget "using the one or more fading margin values" (Compl. ¶31)—is structurally and functionally equivalent to the claimed "mapping" function.
  • Technical Questions: The complaint alleges that fading margins are calculated from a distribution of "error values derived from the comparison of SIRRec to SIRTarget values." (Compl. ¶29). A technical question for the court will be whether this process meets the claim limitation of "estimating some fading margins... associated with some outage probabilities," and what level of proof is required to establish this association.

V. Key Claim Terms for Construction

  • The Term: "dynamic adjusting function which performs a mapping between a quality criterion based on the outage probabilities... and the quality criterion based on the target block error rate"
  • Context and Importance: This term describes the core technical contribution of the patent. Its construction will be critical to determining infringement, as it defines the specific calculation that distinguishes the invention from prior art power control algorithms. Practitioners may focus on this term because the complaint's description of the accused functionality is at a higher level of generality than the patent's detailed disclosure.

Intrinsic Evidence for Interpretation

  • Evidence for a Broader Interpretation: A party may argue that the term should be given its plain and ordinary meaning, covering any function that uses inputs related to both outage probability (such as the calculated fading margins) and BLER to establish a final SIRTarget, regardless of the specific implementation.
  • Evidence for a Narrower Interpretation: The specification repeatedly and preferentially describes this function as a "neural network." (’376 Patent, col. 6:12-17, Fig. 5). The detailed description explains that the final SIRTarget is the sum of two distinct components: one derived from the neural network based on fading margins (SIRoutage-tgt) and a corrective component based on BLER (SIRBLER-tgt). (’376 Patent, col. 5:6-9). This may support an interpretation that limits the claim to systems that perform this specific two-component calculation or use a structure equivalent to the disclosed neural network.

VI. Other Allegations

Willful Infringement

The complaint alleges that Defendant had knowledge of its infringement of the ’376 Patent "at least since the filing and service of TOT's Complaint." (Compl. ¶34). Based on this alleged post-suit knowledge, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant acted "egregiously and/or knowingly or intentionally" and seeks enhanced damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284. (Compl. ¶¶36-37).

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

  • A core issue will be one of definitional scope: does the claim term "dynamic adjusting function which performs a mapping," when read in light of the specification's detailed disclosure of a two-component calculation preferably implemented with a neural network, cover the accused systems' alleged process of adjusting a target SIR using calculated fading margins?
  • A key evidentiary question will be one of technical proof: what evidence will Plaintiff present to demonstrate that the accused BTS calculate "fading margins" that are "associated with... outage probabilities" and then use those specific margins to establish the SIRTarget in the manner required by the claim, as opposed to using a more conventional power control algorithm?