Front Row Techs., LLC v. NBA Media Ventures, LLC

• Decision Date: 04 January 2016
• Docket Number: No. CIV 13–0636 JB/SCY, No. CIV 12–1309 JB/SCY, No. CIV 13–1153 JB/SCY,No. CIV 10–0433 JB/SCY,CIV 10–0433 JB/SCY
• Citation: 163 F.Supp.3d 938
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico
• Parties: Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff, v. NBA Media Ventures, LLC, MLB Advanced Media, L.P., Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., GBTV, LLC, Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., & Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., Defendants. Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff, v. MLB Advanced Media, L.P., Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., d/b/a ‘The Glen Beck Program, Inc.’, & GBTV, LLC, Defendants. Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff, v. NBA Media Ventures, Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. & Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc., Defendants. Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff, v. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc., and Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc., Defendants.

163 F.Supp.3d 938

Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.NBA Media Ventures, LLC, MLB Advanced Media, L.P., Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., GBTV, LLC, Major League Baseball Properties, Inc., & Premiere Radio Networks, Inc., Defendants.

Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.MLB Advanced Media, L.P., Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., d/b/a ‘The Glen Beck Program, Inc.’, & GBTV, LLC, Defendants.

Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.NBA Media Ventures, Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. & Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc., Defendants.

Front Row Technologies, LLC, Plaintiff,

v.Turner Sports Interactive, Inc., and Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc., Defendants.

No. CIV 10–0433 JB/SCY

No. CIV 12–1309 JB/SCY

No. CIV 13–1153 JB/SCY

No. CIV 13–0636 JB/SCY

United States District Court, D. New Mexico.

Signed January 04, 2016

Bryan J. Davis, William G. Gilchrist, Davis, Gilchrist & Lee, P.C., Albuquerque, New Mexico and Michael W. Shore, Alfonso G. Chan, Christopher L. Evans, Patrick J. Conroy, Ari Rafilson, Dustin Lo, Jennifer Rynell, Rajkumar Vinnakota, Shore Chan DePumpo LLP, Dallas, Texas, Attorneys for Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC

John R. Cooney, Emil Kiehne, Modrall Sperling Roehl Harris & Sisk PA, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Alan E. Littmann, Douglas J. Winnard, Brian P. O'Donoghue, Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum, LLP, Chicago, Illinois and Cynthia J. Rigsby, Kevin J. Malaney, Foley & Lardner, LLP, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jason J. Keener, Foley & Lardner, LLP, Chicago, Illinois, Matthew B. Lowrie, Foley & Lardner, LLP, Boston, Massachusetts, Attorneys for Defendants Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. and MLB Advanced Media, L.P.

David B. Weaver, Baker Botts LLP, Austin, Texas, and Andrew J. Allen, Hilary L. Preston, Temilola Sobowale, Vinson & Elkins LLP, New York, New York, Jeffrey Han, Stephen M. Hash, Vinson & Elkins LLP, Austin, Texas, Attorneys for Defendant NBA Media Ventures, Turner

Sports Interactive, Inc., and Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc.

Emil Kiehne, Modrall Sperling Roehl Harris & Sisk PA, Albuquerque, New Mexico and Eleanor M. Lackman, Joshua S. Wolkoff, Cowan DeBaets Abrams & Sheppard LLP, New York, New York and Donna K. Schneider, San Antonio, Texas, Attorneys for Mercury Radio Arts, Inc., GBTV, LLC, and Premiere Radio Networks Inc.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES O. BROWNING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on: (i) the Defendants [Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. and Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc.]' Motion for Leave to File Defendants' First Amended Answer, Defenses, and Counterclaims to Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement, filed October 30, 2013 (Doc. 39 in Front Row Techs., LLC v. Time Warner Inc., No. CIV 13–0636 JB/SCY (D.N.M.)(“Front Row v. Time Warner”))(“Motion for Leave”); (ii) Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Motion to Dismiss MLB Advanced Media, L.P.'s Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim, filed November 26, 2013 (Doc. 187)¹ ; (iii) Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Motion to Dismiss NBA Media Ventures, LLC's Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim, filed November 26, 2013 (Doc. 188); (iv) Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Motion to Dismiss GBTV, LLC's & Mercury Radio Arts, Inc.'s Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim, filed November 26, 2013 (Doc. 189); (v) Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Motion to Dismiss Premiere Radio Networks, Inc.'s Inequitable Conduct Counterclaim, filed November 26, 2013 (Doc. 190); (vi) Plaintiff's 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss Defendants' Inequitable Conduct Counterclaims, filed February 14, 2014 (Doc. 21 in Front Row Techs., LLC v. NBA Media Ventures, No. CIV 13–1153 JB/SCY (D.N.M.)(“Front Row v. NBA Media”))(“Turner Motion to Dismiss”); and (vii) Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Motion to Transfer, filed July 13, 2015 (Doc. 221)(“Motion to Transfer”).² The Court held a hearing on October 27, 2015 on the Motions to Dismiss (ii)-(v) and the Motion to Transfer. The Court did not hold a hearing on the Motion for Leave and the Turner Motion to Dismiss, but the parties have indicated that the Court heard the substance of these motions at the October 27, 2015 hearing. The primary issues are: (i) whether the allegations that attorneys Luis Ortiz and Kermit Lopez improperly filed patent applications on inventions properly attributed to Ericsson, Inc. and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (collectively “Ericsson”) in MLB Advanced Media, L.P.'s Answers and Counterclaims to Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Fourth Amended Complaint, filed October 22, 2013 (Doc. 173) (“Counterclaim”),³ sufficiently allege inequitable conduct; (ii) whether the Counterclaim's allegations that Messrs. Ortiz and Lopez affirmatively misled the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) by submitting avowedly “independent” declarations from one of their law firm's associates, Dr. Richard Krukar, and their business partner, Tony Verna, sufficiently allege inequitable conduct; (iii) whether the Counterclaim's allegations that Messrs. Ortiz and Lopez concealed adverse Appeals Board decisions from patent examiners sufficiently allege inequitable conduct; (iv) whether the Counterclaim's allegations that Messrs. Ortiz and Lopez withheld material information from examiners handling related, co-pending patent applications sufficiently allege inequitable conduct; (v) whether the Court should transfer this case to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, because the case could have been brought there and practical factors allegedly favor a transfer; and (vi) whether the Court should permit Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. (“Turner Sports”) and Turner Digital Basketball Services, Inc. (“Turner Basketball”) to amend their pleadings to assert similar counterclaims against Front Row. The Court concludes that the Counterclaim's allegations related to: (i) Ericsson, Inc. and Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (collectively “Ericsson”); (ii) Tony Verna's declaration to the USPTO; and (iii) Front Row's failure to disclose material information to examiners handling related, co-pending patent applications do not satisfy rule 9(b)'s particularity requirement. The Court will allow the Counterclaim's allegations related to: (i) Dr. Krukar's declaration to the USPTO; and (ii) Front Row's concealment of adverse Appeals Board decisions to proceed. The Court will thus grant Front Row's Motions to Dismiss in part and deny them in part. In light of the Court's decision, the parties' briefing on the Motion to Transfer is largely moot. The Court will deny the Motion to Transfer without prejudice to Front Row re-filing the motion if it continues to desire transfer down the road. Finally, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Motion for Leave to allow Turner Sports and Turner Basketball to assert the remaining inequitable conduct counterclaims against Front Row.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The Court takes its facts from the Counterclaim. It also draws on the Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint for Patent Infringement and Jury Demand, filed April 23, 2013 (Doc. 149)(“Complaint”) and Plaintiff Front Row Technologies, LLC's Original Complaint for Patent Infringement, filed July 10, 2013 (Doc. 1 in Front Row v. Time Warner)(“Turner Complaint”), for important details where necessary.

1. The Parties.

Plaintiff and Counterdefendant Front Row Technologies, LLC (“Front Row”) is a New Mexico limited liability company that holds patents related to streaming video on mobile devices. See Complaint ¶¶ 1–20, at 1–5. Attorneys Ortiz and Kermit Lopez founded Front Row in 2000 and are still its owners. See Counterclaim ¶¶ 18–19, at 37. They have filed “over twenty [patent] applications that relate to the same general subject matter.” Counterclaim ¶ 19, at 37. Front Row states that it owns “all rights, title, and interest in and under” ten such patents:

1. United States Patent No. 8,090,321 (“321 patent”), titled “Transmitting Sports and Entertainment Data to Wireless Hand Held Devices over a Telecommunications Network,” which duly and legally issued on January 3, 2012;

2. United States Patent No. 8,086,184 (“184 patent”), titled “Transmitting Sports and Entertainment Data to Wireless Hand Held Devices over a Telecommunications Network,” which duly and legally issued on December 27, 2011;

3. United States Patent No. 8,270,895 (“895 patent”), titled “Transmitting Sports and Entertainment Data to Wireless Hand Held Devices over a Telecommunications Network,” which duly and legally issued on September 18, 2012;

4. United States Patent No. 7,812,856 (“856 patent”), titled “Providing Multiple Perspectives of a Venue Activity to Electronic Wireless Hand Held Devices,” which duly and legally issued on October 12, 2010;

5. United States Patent No. 7,796,162 (“162 patent”), titled “Providing Multiple Synchronized Camera Views for Broadcast from a Live Venue Activity to Remote Viewers,” which duly and legally issued on September 14, 2010;

6. United States Patent No. 7,884,855 (“855 patent”), titled “Displaying Broadcasts of Multiple Camera Perspective Recordings from Live Activities at Entertainment Venues on Remote Video Monitors,” which duly and legally issued on February 8, 2011;

7. United States Patent No. 7,782,363 (“363 patent”), titled “Providing Multiple Video Perspectives of Activities through a Data Network to a Remote Multimedia Server for Selective Display by Remote Viewing Audiences,” which duly and legally issued on August 24, 2010;

8. United States Patent No. 8,184,169 (“169 patent”), titled “Providing Multiple Video Perspectives of Activities through a Data Network to a Remote Multimedia Server for Selective Display by Remote Viewing Audiences,” which duly and legally issued on May 22, 2012;

9. United States Patent No. 8,401,460 (“460 patent”), titled “Transmitting Sports and Entertainment Data to Wireless Hand Held Devices over a Telecommunications Network,” which duly and legally issued on March 19,

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