Intellectual Ventures has extended its streak of legal filings after filing a pair of patent infringement cases for the fourth time in as many weeks. This week’s targets are Google-owned Motorola Mobility and Capital One bank.
The patent holding firm, which is owned by former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold, has come under scrutiny in the last month for its practices following a This American Life report investigating the company’s actions.
The case against Motorola Mobility is the second patent infringement lawsuit filed against the cell phone manufacturer by Intellectual Ventures. The complaint (PDF) claims that Motorola’s phones, including the Atrix HD, Electrify M, and Photon Q 4G LTE, violate seven patents owned by IV.
While the banks targeted by Intellectual Ventures have been holding back public comment on their litigation, Motorola Mobility isn’t going down without a fight, even going so far as to indirectly call IV a patent troll.
“We’re fighting to stop patent trolls’ use of low-quality patents to extort money from companies that actually innovate and make real things,” a Motorola spokesperson told Cnet in a statement. “We support bipartisan efforts by the White House and Congress to end these kinds of abuses.”
President Obama has issued a five-point plan to curb patent abuses, complete with a compliment of executive orders, Congress has yet to vote on any sort of patent reform.
Previously on GeekWire: Watch out, Intellectual Ventures? President Obama says enough with patent shenanigans…This American Life: Intellectual Ventures got 90% of ongoing profits even after selling patent
