Ligtel Commc'ns, Inc. v. Baicells Techs., Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 April 2020
• Docket Number: CASE NUMBER: 1:20-CV-37-HAB
• Citation: 455 F.Supp.3d 792
• Parties: LIGTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Plaintiff, v. BAICELLS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. and Baicells Technologies of North America, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

455 F.Supp.3d 792

LIGTEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., Plaintiff,

v.BAICELLS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. and Baicells Technologies of North America, Inc., Defendants.

CASE NUMBER: 1:20-CV-37-HAB

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Fort Wayne Division.

Signed April 21, 2020

Gabriel K. Gillett, PHV, Pro Hac Vice, Leigh J. Jahnig, PHV, Pro Hac Vice, Michael J. Nelson, Jenner & Block LLP, Chicago, IL, Michael L. Schultz, Parr Richey Frandsen Patterson Kruse LLP, Indianapolis, IN, Samuel L. Feder, PHV, Pro Hac Vice, Jenner & Block LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Adam Arceneaux, Eric J. McKeown, Jessa Irene DeGroote, Ice Miller LLP, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

HOLLY A. BRADY, JUDGE

LigTel Communications Inc. ("LigTel") sued Baicells Technologies, Inc. and Baicells Technologies North America, Inc. (collectively, "Baicells") for false designation of origin and false or misleading representations under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(a), and its Indiana counterpart. (Compl. ¶¶ 45–73, ECF No. 1.) Additionally, it has alleged claims for misappropriation of trade secrets pursuant to the Defense of Trade Secrets Act ("DTSA"), 18 U.S.C. § 1831, et seq. and the Indiana Uniform Trade Secrets Act ("IUTSA"), Ind. Code § 24-2-3-3. (Compl. ¶¶ 74–93). LigTel seeks injunctive and monetary relief as is evidenced by its Motion for Preliminary Injunction (ECF No. 4) filed contemporaneously with its Complaint. Baicells filed an Answer denying the Complaint's allegations and opposing the request for injunctive relief. (Answer, ECF No. 29.) The parties have engaged in expedited discovery, submitted pre-hearing briefs along with affidavits and exhibits (ECF Nos. 35, 36, 37, and 38) and argued the preliminary injunction motion to the Court.¹ Having reviewed all these materials, and for the reasons stated below, LigTel's request for Preliminary Injunction will be DENIED.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

With few exceptions, which shall be identified herein, the parties’ accounts of the underlying factual allegations giving rise to this case do not widely differ. As will be identified throughout the Discussion, it is the legal import and/or inferences to be drawn from these factual allegations that are disputed.

A. The Parties

LigTel, founded as the Ligonier Telephone Company in 1896, is a family-owned company that serves some 1,500 wireless service customers across seven counties in northeastern Indiana. (Compl. ¶ 2.) LigTel "provides broadband internet, television, and wireless telephone service" to these wireless service customers and thus, functions as a wireless Internet Service Provider ("ISP"). (ECF No. 35-2, Interrogatory 4.) LigTel "advertises, promotes, and markets its wireless services ... through websites, print, and other media" within the Indiana market it services. (Id. )

BaiCells manufactures and sells Long-Term Evolution ("LTE") wireless broadband equipment to operators of wireless networks. (Decl. of Jesse Raasch ¶ 5, ECF No. 35-6.)² Baicells does not operate commercial LTE wireless networks nor does it provide internet service or mobile phone services to its customers. (Id. ¶ 6.) They are, in essence, equipment vendors that provide LTE service equipment and LTE core solutions to wireless ISPs that are in the same business as LigTel. (Compl. ¶ 12.) To that end, Baicells has about 544 wireless ISP customers, many of whom serve customers and end users in rural communities.

B. The Technology

This case involves the inner workings of wireless mobile devices, computers, and equipment. Every LTE device that provides broadband in the United States has a unique fifteen-digit number, commonly referred to as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity ("IMSI"). (Decl. of Josh Wentworth ¶ 2, ECF No. 36-37; Decl. of Randy Mead ¶3, ECF No. 36-24.)³ An IMSI is used in any mobile network that interconnects with other networks. Each device's IMSI is stored in its Subscriber Identity Module ("SIM"), which is a removable card found in the device. (Raasch Decl. ¶ 16.)

An IMSI includes three components: (1) a three-digit Mobile Country Code (MCC); (2) a three-digit Mobile Network Code (MNC); and (3) a nine-digit Mobile Station Identification Number (MSIN). (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 2; Raasch Decl. ¶ 18.) The first six digits of an IMSI are comprised of the MCC and the MNC and, in combination, they are known as the Home Network Identity code ("HNI code") or Public Land Mobile Network code ("PLMN code"). (Id. ; Mead Decl. ¶ 3.) The HNI code identifies the carrier to which a wireless customer subscribes. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 2; Mead Decl. ¶ 3.) The remaining digits identify the particular device used by the wireless customer. All HNI codes utilized in the United States are six digits, beginning with 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, or 316. (Wentworth Decl. ¶¶ 3, 7; Mead Decl. ¶ 4; IMSI Guidelines § 3.9: HNI codes are "a fixed 6-digit length in the United States.") Other countries use five-digit codes. (Mead Decl. ¶ 4.)

The IMSI Oversight Council ("IOC"), a committee of the Alliance for the Telecommunications Industry Solutions ("ATIS"), governs the assignment and administration of HNI codes. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 4.) In the United States, iconectiv acts as the IMSI administrator managing HNI codes. (Id. ) ATIS prescribes a publicly-available process for applying for an HNI code. (IMSI Guidelines ¶ 6.) Applicants meeting the criteria for assignment of an HNI code must pay annual fees, efficiently manage the code, and participate in IMSI audits. (Id. ) All HNI codes registered and assigned in the United States are identified and listed on the IMSI administrator's website. (Mead Decl. ¶ 4.) ATIS also offers a voluntary, non-binding dispute resolution process related to HNI codes. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 32.)

1. LigTel's HNI Code and its LTE Network Deployment

In 2001, LigTel applied to ATIS for an HNI code and was assigned the code 311980. (Mead Decl. ¶ 6.) LigTel annually pays the maintenance fee and is in good standing with the HNI administrator. (Id. )

In 2012, LigTel upgraded to an LTE network to incrementally increase its network speed over existing 3G networks. (Mead Decl. ¶ 8; Wentworth Decl. ¶ 13.) At that time, LigTel deployed an LTE core manufactured by Huawei, a global provider of telecommunications equipment. (Mead Decl. ¶¶ 8–9; Wentworth Decl. ¶¶ 13–16.) To facilitate LigTel's new LTE network deployment, LigTel and Huawei entered into non-disclosure agreements so that LigTel could safely share its proprietary and sensitive information to Huawei. (Wentworth Decl. ¶¶ 13, 16–18.) Ronald Mao ("Mao"), whose relevance will be discussed infra , was an employee of Huawei from November 2005 until June 2017. (Decl. of Ronald Mao ¶ 11, ECF No. 35-5.)

2. Baicells’ Founding and Use of Code 31198

In 2014, two former employees of Huawei founded Baicells. (Compl. ¶¶ 27, 29.) In November 2015, research and development engineers for Baicells in China adopted the HNI/PLMN code 31198. (Raasch Decl. ¶ 12.) The first three digits represent a country code for the United States. (Id. ) The remaining two digits appear to be randomly selected.⁴ Baicells utilizes the HNI code 31198 on equipment identified as "eNodeB." "An ‘eNodeB’ is an LTE term that refers to the base station that facilitates wireless communication between an operator network and end-user equipment," such as computers or a mobile device. (Id. ¶ 14.) Baicells eNodeBs broadcast the HNI/PLMN code 31198 to enable connection to Baicells’ CloudCore Evolved Packet Core ("EPC"). The EPC was also programmed to use HNI/PLMN code 31198.

The HNI/PLMN code 31198 is also found in the SIM cards that reside on end-user devices that connect to networks operated by Baicells’ customers. As noted supra , the IMSI number embedded on an end-user SIM card consists of the HNI/PLMN code along with an MSIN. (Raasch Decl. ¶ 17.) When viewed on the card, the IMSI is a string of numbers. However, "when the IMSI is coded on a SIM card, the MCC, the MNC, and the MSIN are each coded separately." (Id. ) This results in Baicells PLMN of 31198 encoded as 0x13F189, whereas LigTel's HNI code of 311-980 is encoded as 0x139108. "This difference in coding means that the SIM cards utilized by end users of Baicells network-operator customers will not be mistakenly recognized as residing on the LigTel network and will not be able to gain unauthorized access to LigTel's network." (Id. ¶ 19.)

C. LigTel Learns of Baicells Use of 31198

On June 21, 2019, Wentworth was contacted by email by Jeff Brown ("Brown") at Viaero Wireless ("Viaero"), a wireless ISP in northeast Colorado, about possible interference caused by a carrier appearing to use LigTel's HNI code in Nebraska. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 19; ECF No. 36-46 (confirming email).) Viaero's contention that LigTel was interfering with its network flummoxed Wentworth since LigTel has never conducted any business in either Colorado or Nebraska. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 19.) A few days later, on June 26, 2019, Brown contacted Wentworth again and informed him that equipment from Sandhills Wireless ("Sandhills") in Nebraska was transmitting a signal appearing to be LigTel's because the equipment had HNI code 31198. (Id. ; ECF No. 36-47, Viaero email identifying Sandhills equipment with PLMN 31198; Mead Decl. ¶ 12: "Wentworth ... informed me that Sandhills ... was using an HNI code that appears to the world to be LigTel's HNI code.") Wentworth advised Brown that LigTel did not provide any services in Nebraska. Subsequently, on June 28, 2019, LigTel sent a cease and desist letter to Sandhills demanding that it cease its use of HNI code 311-980. (Id. ¶ 25.)

On July 2, 2019, Wentworth contacted Sandhills, which confirmed it was using Baicells equipment and that the SIM cards issued to its end users contained IMSI numbers that start with 311980. (Wentworth Decl. ¶ 24.) Sandhills indicated concern about this issue and, on July 3, 2019, LigTel granted Sandhills a limited right to use LigTel's HNI Code 311-980. (Id. ¶ 25.)

Wentworth...