Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 1 of 98 Page ID #:1 1 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP James R. Asperger (Bar No. 83188) 2 jamesasperger@quinnemanuel.com 3 Yury Kapgan (Bar No. 218366) yurykapgan@quinnemanuel.com 4 865 S. Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 5 Telephone: (213) 443-3000 6 Facsimile: (213) 443-3100 7 Victoria F. Maroulis (Bar No. 202603) victoriamaroulis@quinnemanuel.com 8 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, 5th Floor Redwood Shores, CA 94065 9 Telephone: (650) 801-5000 10 Facsimile: (650) 801-5100 Jordan R. Jaffe (Bar No. 254886) jordanjaffe@quinnemanuel.com 50 California Street, 22nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 875-6600 Facsimile: (415) 875-6700 BLACKBERRY CORPORATION Edward R. McGah, Jr (Bar No. 97719) Vice President, Deputy General Counsel – Litigation 41 Ticknor Place Laguna Niguel, California 92677 Telephone: (650) 581-4750 11 Attorneys for Plaintiff 12 BlackBerry Limited 13 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 14 FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 15 16 17 BLACKBERRY LIMITED, a Canadian corporation, 18 19 20 21 22 23 Plaintiff, v. CASE NO. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT JURY TRIAL DEMANDED TWITTER, INC., a Delaware corporation Defendant. 24 25 26 27 28 Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 2 of 98 Page ID #:2 1 2 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Plaintiff BlackBerry Limited (“BlackBerry” or “Plaintiff”) hereby asserts the 3 following claims for patent infringement against Defendant Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter” 4 or “Defendant”), and alleges as follows: 5 6 SUMMARY 1. BlackBerry Pioneers Mobile Messaging - BlackBerry has been a 7 leading innovator in the field of mobile communications for the past 30 years, 8 having invested substantial sums into research and development of communications 9 technologies. BlackBerry’s innovations led to the commercialization of some of the 10 earliest models of smartphones in the United States, enabling its users to, among 11 other things, send and receive e-mails securely and surf the internet anytime and 12 anywhere. These same innovations prompted the rise of the smartphone as a 13 necessary everyday accessory for businesspersons and ordinary consumers alike. 14 2. One example of BlackBerry’s innovations is the BlackBerry Messenger 15 technology, which revolutionized instant messaging by providing users with secure, 16 user-friendly, point-to-point instant messaging on their mobile devices. In many 17 respects, through BlackBerry Messenger and other research and development, 18 BlackBerry helped pioneer modern mobile messaging—secure, instant and user 19 friendly on a mobile device. The appeal and success of BlackBerry Messenger led 20 consumers to consider instant messaging functionality as an integral aspect of 21 mobile communications, resulting today in billions of people worldwide engaging in 22 instant messaging over their mobile devices. 23 3. As an innovator, BlackBerry took many steps to safeguard this valuable 24 intellectual property. It received numerous patents protecting the cutting-edge 25 features of its mobile phones, BlackBerry Messenger, and other communications 26 applications that make such products secure, easy-to-use, and ultimately engaging to 27 the end-user, thereby driving user growth and retention. 28 Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 3 of 98 Page ID #:3 1 4. Defendant Later Develops Competing Applications that Improperly 2 Use BlackBerry’s Mobile Messaging Intellectual Property - Defendant, on the 3 other hand, is a relative latecomer to the mobile messaging world. Defendant 4 created mobile messaging applications that co-opt BlackBerry’s innovations, using a 5 number of the innovative user interface and functionality enhancing features that 6 made BlackBerry’s products such a critical and commercial success in the first 7 place. 8 5. The Patents-in-Suit cover, for example: 9 (a) User Interface Improvements For Mobile Devices—including (i) 10 improvements in message notification techniques that streamline and 11 optimize reception of new message notifications that prevent users from being 12 inundated with numerous messaging notifications, (ii) resetting a new 13 message indicator when a user accesses their inbox list of messaging 14 conversations, which saves users from having to individually view each 15 conversation in which there is a new message in order to reset their new 16 message indicator; 17 (b) Messaging and Social Networking Improvements for Mobile Devices— 18 including (i) improved techniques for determining whether a recipient has 19 read messages in a conversation by inferring the status of one or more of the 20 messages, thereby reducing data transmissions, power consumption and 21 improving battery life in mobile devices, and (ii) improved techniques for 22 making informational content, selected by one user, available to one or more 23 other users via a data hub server that avoids users having to download and re- 24 upload content that they wish to share, thereby reducing unnecessary data 25 transmissions, power consumption and improving battery life in mobile 26 devices; and 27 (c) Mobile Advertising—improved techniques of delivering targeted 28 advertising and content to mobile devices based on user demographics and -3Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 4 of 98 Page ID #:4 1 interest, as well as the location of the user’s mobile device and time-based 2 triggers. 3 6. Defendant’s Use of BlackBerry’s Mobile Messaging Innovations 4 Harms BlackBerry and Provides an Undeserved Windfall to Defendant— 5 Defendant’s use of BlackBerry’s inventions, and infringement of the Patents-in-Suit, 6 has succeeded in diverting consumers away from BlackBerry’s products and 7 services and toward those of Defendant. This has resulted in a substantial and 8 undeserved windfall for Defendant as these users drive Defendant’s revenue. 9 Defendant’s gain comes at BlackBerry’s expense, depriving BlackBerry of revenue 10 to which it is entitled as a result of its inventions. 11 7. BlackBerry attempted to resolve this dispute without resorting to 12 litigation. For example, Blackberry reached out to Defendant’s General Counsel in 13 June and July 2017 regarding BlackBerry’s patent portfolio and, among other 14 things, identified two of the Patents-in-Suit as being infringed by Defendant. See 15 Ex. H, attached hereto. However, Defendant has refused to adequately compensate 16 BlackBerry for its use of BlackBerry’s intellectual property. Through this suit, 17 BlackBerry seeks redress for the harm caused by Defendant’s unlawful use of 18 BlackBerry’s intellectual property. 19 20 INTRODUCTION TO BLACKBERRY 8. 21 mobile For more than 30 years, BlackBerry has been a leading innovator in the communications industry. BlackBerry’s cutting-edge wireless 22 communication products and services have transformed the way people around the 23 world connect, converse, and share digital information. 24 9. BlackBerry was founded in 1984 in Waterloo, Ontario by two 25 engineering students, Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin. In its early years, the 26 company—then named Research In Motion (“RIM”)—focused its inventive 27 energies on wireless data transmission. 28 -4Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 5 of 98 Page ID #:5 1 10. From its modest beginnings more than 30 years ago, BlackBerry has 2 gone on to offer a portfolio of award-winning products, services, and embedded 3 technologies to tens of millions of individual consumers and organizations around 4 the world, including governments, and educational institutions. By transforming the 5 way people communicate, BlackBerry laid a foundation for today’s multibillion6 dollar modern smartphone industry. BlackBerry’s innovations in mobile 7 communications continue to this day through BlackBerry’s award-winning software 8 platform and devices, which enable and manage security, mobility, and 9 communications between and among hardware, programs, mobile applications, and 10 the Internet of Things (IoT). 11 11. In the course of developing its ground-breaking mobile 12 communications systems, BlackBerry (and the BlackBerry family of companies) 13 invented a broad array of technologies that cover everything from enhanced security 14 and cryptographic techniques, to mobile device user interfaces, instant messaging 15 functionality, communication servers, and many other areas. To take just one 16 example, security posed a critical challenge for BlackBerry to address when 17 bringing its mobile devices to market. Commercial acceptance of such mobile 18 devices required providing mechanisms to ensure safe and secure communications 19 so that users and businesses could be confident that their confidential and private 20 information stayed that way in the face of ever-increasing security threats. As a 21 result of its innovative technologies, BlackBerry has been universally recognized as 22 the gold standard when it comes to safe and secure data communications over 23 mobile devices. 24 12. Indeed, throughout its history, BlackBerry has demonstrated a 25 commitment to innovation, including through its investments in research and 26 development, which have totaled more than $5.5 billion over the past decade. 27 BlackBerry has protected the technical innovations resulting from these investments, 28 -5Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 6 of 98 Page ID #:6 1 including by seeking patent protection, and as detailed below, BlackBerry owns 2 rights to an array of patented technologies in the United States. 13. 3 BlackBerry owns United States Patent Nos. 8,676,929, 8,296,351, 4 9,349,120, 9,021,059, 8,286,089, and 8,572,182 (collectively, the “Patents-in-Suit”). 5 Defendant infringes the Patents-in-Suit by using, without authorization, 6 BlackBerry’s proprietary technologies in a number of commercial products and 7 services, such as the Twitter application1 and Twitter Ads which are marketed, 8 offered and distributed to advertisers and users of mobile and other devices 9 throughout the United States, including in this District. 14. 10 By this action, BlackBerry seeks to put an end to Defendant’s 11 unauthorized use of BlackBerry’s patented technologies and to obtain compensation 12 for the harm BlackBerry has suffered. 13 NATURE OF THE ACTION 15. 14 This is a civil action for patent infringement under the patent laws of 15 the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. 16. 16 Defendant has infringed and continues to infringe, and has induced and 17 continues to induce infringement of, one or more claims of the Patents-in-Suit at 18 least by making, using, selling, and/or offering to sell Twitter Ads and the Twitter 19 application for mobile and other devices in the United States, including in this 20 District. 17. 21 BlackBerry is the legal owner by assignment of the Patents-in-Suit, 22 which were duly and legally issued by the United States Patent and Trademark 23 Office (“USPTO”). BlackBerry seeks injunctive relief and monetary damages. 24 25 26 1 As used herein, “Twitter application” refers to all applicable versions of the 27 Twitter application, including those released for iOS, Android, Windows, and the 28 web (www.twitter.com). -6Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 7 of 98 Page ID #:7 1 2 THE PARTIES 18. Plaintiff BlackBerry Limited is a Canadian company with its principal 3 place of business at 2200 University Avenue East, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2K 4 0A7. BlackBerry Limited is the owner of intellectual property rights at issue in this 5 action. 6 19. On information and belief, Defendant is a Delaware corporation with a 7 principal place of business at 1355 Market St. Ste. 900, San Francisco, CA 94103. 8 On information and belief, Defendant maintains offices in Santa Monica, California, 9 operates and owns the website located at www.twitter.com, and markets, offers, and 10 distributes applications and services such as Twitter and Twitter Ads throughout the 11 United States, including in this District. 12 20. Upon information and belief, Defendant directly and/or indirectly 13 develops, designs, manufactures, distributes, markets, offers to sell and/or sells 14 infringing products and services in the United States, including in this District, and 15 otherwise purposefully directs infringing activities to this District in connection with 16 the Twitter application and Twitter Ads. 17 18 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 21. This is a civil action for patent infringement arising under the patent 19 laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. 20 22. This Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the matters asserted 21 herein under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a) and 35 U.S.C. §§ 271 et seq. 22 23. This Court has personal jurisdiction over Defendant, in part because 23 Defendant does continuous and systematic business in this District, including by 24 providing infringing products and services to the residents of this District that it 25 knew would be used within this District, and by soliciting business from the 26 residents of this District. For example, Defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction 27 in this Court because, among other reasons, upon information and belief, it has a 28 regular and established place of business at its offices in this District, including its -7Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 8 of 98 Page ID #:8 1 office in Santa Monica (see https://careers.twitter.com/en/locations/los- 2 angeles.html), employs over 80 individuals in the Los Angeles Metro Area (see Ex. 3 G) and elsewhere in the State of California, and directly and through agents 4 regularly does, solicits and transacts business in the Central District of California 5 and elsewhere in the State of California, including through its website at 6 www.twitter.com, Twitter Ads, and its Twitter application, all of which are 7 marketed, offered, and distributed to and utilized by advertisers and users of 8 computing and mobile devices in this District and throughout the State of California. 9 24. In particular, Defendant has committed and continues to commit acts of 10 infringement in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271, and has made, used, marketed, 11 distributed, offered for sale, sold, and/or imported infringing products and services 12 in the State of California, including in this District, and engaged in infringing 13 conduct within and directed at or from this District. For example, Defendant has 14 purposefully and voluntarily placed the Twitter application and Twitter Ads into the 15 stream of commerce with the expectation that its infringing products and services 16 will be used in this District. The infringing Twitter application and Twitter Ads 17 have been and continue to be distributed to and used in this District. Defendant’s 18 acts cause injury to BlackBerry, including within this District. 19 25. Venue is proper in this District under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 20 §§ 1391 and 1400(b) at least because a substantial part of the events or omissions 21 giving rise to the claims occurred in this judicial district, and because Defendant has 22 committed acts of infringement in this District and has a regular and established 23 place of business in this District. 24 25 26 27 28 -8Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 9 of 98 Page ID #:9 26. 1 In particular, on information and belief, Defendant has a regular and 2 established place of business in this District located in Santa Monica, California.2 3 On further information and belief, Defendant employs engineers and/or other 4 personnel within this District, including at its office in Santa Monica.3 5 FACTS COMMON TO ALL CLAIMS 6 BlackBerry’s Innovation and Industry Recognition 27. 7 BlackBerry is a global leader in the mobile communications industry. 8 Through its significant investment in research and development over the past 30 9 years, BlackBerry has developed innovative, cutting-edge technologies that have 10 changed the face of telecommunications. In particular, BlackBerry has developed 11 key innovations in the way mobile devices and communications software interact 12 with and receive input from users. BlackBerry’s innovations in messaging and UI 13 development improved the speed and accuracy with which users could perform 14 various tasks on their mobile devices. 28. 15 In the late 1990s, BlackBerry began to release a series of game- 16 changing handheld mobile devices that enabled users to send and receive email and 17 messages on the go, without needing to be tethered to a modem or a desktop 18 computer. The innovative nature of the 1998 RIM 950 Wireless Handheld, for 19 example, was instantly recognized, garnering both an Editor’s Choice Award from 20 CNET and Andrew Seybold’s Outlook Award. In particular, the press praised the 21 RIM 950’s keyboard for its advanced ergonomic features, including an easy-to-type22 on keyboard layout despite the device’s miniature size. 23 24 2 See, e.g., https://careers.twitter.com/en/locations/los-angeles.html; https://twitter.com/TwitterLA (“Official Account for the tweeps in the #TwitterLA 26 office!”). 3 For example, www.linkedin.com identifies more than 80 Twitter employees in the 27 Greater Los Angeles Area. (See Ex. G.) 25 28 -9Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 10 of 98 Page ID #:10 29. 1 In 2002, BlackBerry released the BlackBerry 6710 and 6720 – the first 2 BlackBerry devices capable of both sending emails and making phone calls, and 3 some of the earliest smartphones released in the United States. The next year, 4 BlackBerry introduced smartphone models that added built-in audio hardware and 5 color screens. Since those early smartphones, BlackBerry has continued to offer 6 handheld wireless products incorporating its proprietary technologies in security, 7 communications, mobile device user interfaces, and other areas. 30. 8 In 2005, BlackBerry introduced the innovative BlackBerry Messenger 9 (or “BBM”) application, which revolutionized the concept of instant messaging. 10 BBM provided the first form of point-to-point communications that was instant, 11 cross-carrier, and mobile. The developers of BBM further incorporated a well12 designed graphical user interface and other innovative features not utilized by 13 messaging platforms at that time. For example, BBM has been credited as the first 14 messaging platform to enable status updates showing when messages were 15 Delivered and Read by users, which created a pioneering sense of real-time presence 16 that is now standard in many instant messaging applications. Additionally, BBM’s 17 unique platform has allowed users to communicate even when traditional forms of 18 cell communication were incapacitated, such as during the Chilean earthquake in 19 2010.4 31. 20 Over the years, BlackBerry continued to develop and improve 21 successive versions of BBM by introducing features such as GPS positioning, 22 connected applications, voice chat, private chat, and many other features. As a 23 result, BBM has been widely downloaded and is popular among users of all 24 platforms, including Android and iOS. 25 4 Indeed, more than 5 million people See, e.g., https://www.cio.com/article/2420175/blackberry-phone/blackberry- 26 messenger--bbm--keeps-chilean-quake-affected-connected.html; 27 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/20/technology/the-right-connections-the-simple28 blackberry-allowed-contact-when-phones-failed.html. -10Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 11 of 98 Page ID #:11 1 downloaded BBM within 8 hours of the release of its Android and iOS versions in 2 October 2013. By March 4, 2015, the Android version of BBM had reached 100 3 million Google Play installs. BBM also enjoys strong user loyalty, with studies 4 finding that 82% of BBM’s Android users continue using the application 90 days 5 after installation. 6 32. Each successive iteration of BlackBerry’s wireless devices and 7 technologies have received significant unsolicited coverage in the media. For 8 example, GSMA—the largest and most well-known association of mobile 9 operators—recognized BlackBerry and its communication technologies as 10 “chang[ing] the face of corporate communication.” Thomson Reuters named 11 BlackBerry one of the World’s Top 100 Most Innovative Organizations, based 12 largely on the number of “important patents” owned by BlackBerry. In 2015, 13 Forrester Research crowned BlackBerry as a “leader in mobile management” based 14 on BlackBerry’s focus in security software and mobile solutions. 15 33. BlackBerry’s handheld devices and communications technologies have 16 garnered widespread industry acclaim for both their unique design and their 17 performance. For example, BlackBerry mobile devices have garnered dozens of 18 industry awards, including the GSMA Chairman’s Award, InfoWorld Magazine’s 19 Product of the Year Award, PC World’s World Class Award, the Network Industry 20 Award for Best New Mobile Communications Product, the BusinessWeek Best 21 Product of the Year Award, Digit Magazine’s “World’s Best Mobile OS” Award, 22 Security Products “Govies” Government Security Award, and PC Magazine’s Best 23 Products of the Year Award. BBM in particular has been recognized for its 24 innovations in mobile messaging, being awarded “Superstar” distinction from the 25 2014 Mobile Star Awards in the Mobile Messaging or Email category, the Indonesia 26 Golden Ring Award for Best Mobile Social Media, and the ICA 2014 Award for 27 Best Mobile Chat App. 28 -11Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 12 of 98 Page ID #:12 1 34. BlackBerry’s more recent innovations have garnered similar industry 2 acclaim. For example, in 2015 BlackBerry’s Passport was awarded the prestigious 3 Red Dot “Best of the Best” award for innovative product design (from thousands of 4 total entries); BlackBerry and BBM were recognized with the Mobile Marketing 5 Association’s “Smartie” Award for 2015 Publisher/Media Company of the Year in 6 Mobile; and BlackBerry’s PRIV was awarded the Red Dot “Design Award” for best 7 product design in 2016. 8 9 BlackBerry’s Patents 35. U.S. Patent No. 8,676,929 (“’929 Patent”) is entitled “System and 10 method for pushing information to a mobile device,” and was issued on March 18, 11 2014. A true and correct copy of the ’929 Patent is attached as Exhibit A. 12 36. The ’929 Patent was filed on September 13, 2012 as U.S. Patent 13 Application No. 13/614,884 and claims priority to, inter alia, U.S. Provisional Appl. 14 No. 60/307,265 filed July 23, 2001. 15 37. BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 16 to the ’929 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’929 17 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. 18 38. The ’929 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 39. U.S. Patent No. 8,296,351 (“’351 Patent”) is entitled “System and 19 Laws. 20 21 method for pushing information to a mobile device,” and was issued on October 23, 22 2012. A true and correct copy of the ’351 Patent is attached as Exhibit B. 23 40. The ’351 Patent was filed on March 18, 2010 as U.S. Patent 24 Application No. 12/726,405 and claims priority to, inter alia, U.S. Provisional Appl. 25 No. 60/307,265 filed July 23, 2001. 26 41. BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 27 to the ’351 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’351 28 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. -12Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 13 of 98 Page ID #:13 1 42. The ’351 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 43. U.S. Patent No. 9,349,120 (“’120 Patent”) is entitled “System and 2 Laws. 3 4 method for silencing notifications for a message thread,” and was issued on May 24, 5 2016. A true and correct copy of the ’120 Patent is attached as Exhibit C. 6 44. The ’120 Patent was filed on Feb. 26, 2010 as U.S. Patent Application 7 No. 12/713,577 and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 61/167,542 filed 8 Apr. 8, 2009. 9 45. BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 10 to the ’120 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’120 11 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. 12 46. The ’120 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 47. U.S. Patent No. 9,021,059 (“’059 Patent”) is entitled “Data hub server,” 13 Laws. 14 15 and was issued on April 28, 2015. A true and correct copy of the ’059 Patent is 16 attached as Exhibit D. 17 48. The ’059 Patent was filed on Nov. 21, 2011 as U.S. Patent Application 18 No. 13/301,006 and is a continuation of U.S. Patent Application No. 112/394,994 19 filed Feb. 27, 2009, which issued as U.S. Patent No. 8,065,361. 20 49. BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 21 to the ’059 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’059 22 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. 23 50. The ’059 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 51. U.S. Patent No. 8,286,089 (“’089 Patent”) is entitled “Representing 24 Laws. 25 26 new messages on a communication device,” and was issued on October 9, 2012. A 27 true and correct copy of the ’089 Patent is attached as Exhibit E. 28 -13Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 14 of 98 Page ID #:14 52. 1 The ’089 Patent was filed on Dec. 30, 2005 as U.S. Patent Application 2 No. 11/320,980. 53. 3 BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 4 to the ’089 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’089 5 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. 6 54. The ’089 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 55. U.S. Patent No. 8,572,182 (“’182 Patent”) is entitled “Handling 7 Laws. 8 9 notifications in instant messaging systems,” and was issued on Oct. 29, 2013. A 10 true and correct copy of the ’182 Patent is attached as Exhibit F. 56. 11 The ’182 Patent was filed on July 21, 2006 as U.S. Patent Application 12 No. 11/459,047. 57. 13 BlackBerry Limited is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and 14 to the ’182 Patent, with the full and exclusive right to bring suit to enforce the ’182 15 Patent, including the right to recover for past infringement. 58. 16 The ’182 Patent is valid and enforceable under United States Patent 17 Laws. 18 Defendant’s Use of BlackBerry’s Patented Technologies 59. 19 On information and belief, Defendant released its first mobile Twitter 20 application in April 2010, nearly half a decade after BlackBerry’s release of 21 BlackBerry Messenger (“BBM”).5 Additionally, Defendant first introduced 22 “Promoted Tweet” advertisements via Twitter Ads sometime in 2010, nearly a 23 decade after the priority date of BlackBerry’s ’929 and ’351 patents.6 24 25 5 See, e.g., https://blog.twitter.com/official/en_us/a/2010/twitter-for-iphone-1.html; 26 https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/09/twitter-acquires-tweetie/. 27 6 See, e.g., https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/technology/internet/ 28 13twitter.html. -14Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 15 of 98 Page ID #:15 1 60. By the time Defendant had released even the first (and simplest) 2 version of its Twitter application, BlackBerry had already invented most of the 3 technologically innovative messaging application functionalities at issue in this 4 action. Industry commentators at the time noted the success of BBM, including 5 with consumer audiences such as “[t]eens, for instance, [who] love BlackBerry 6 Messenger, RIM’s proprietary instant messaging feature.” See 7 http://archive.fortune.com/2009/08/12/technology/blackberry_research_in_motion.f 8 ortune/index.htm. The consumer demand and appreciation for BlackBerry’s 9 innovative messaging application functionalities was further evidenced in 2013, 10 when BlackBerry released the first versions of BBM for Apple’s iOS and Google’s 11 Android mobile device platforms and recorded over 5 million downloads of BBM 12 within the first 8 hours of being made available. See 13 https://9to5mac.com/2013/10/21/blackberry-announces-5-million-downloads-of14 bbm-for-ios-and-android-only-8-hours-after-release/. In just two years, BBM had 15 been installed in over 100 million Android devices alone. See 16 http://blogs.blackberry.com/2015/03/bbm-hits-100m-google-play-installs/. 17 61. Seizing on the success of BBM and demand for consumer messaging 18 platforms featuring BlackBerry’s innovative features and functionalities, Defendant 19 has developed and released its infringing Twitter application that incorporates and 20 unlawfully utilizes BlackBerry’s patented technologies, including, without 21 limitation, the Twitter application for Android and iOS devices. Likewise, 22 Defendant has utilized BlackBerry’s innovative electronic advertising technologies 23 to monetize its Twitter platform, including without limitation, through its Twitter 24 Ads service. 25 62. On information and belief, Defendant markets, offers, and distributes 26 the infringing Twitter application and Twitter Ads service in and within the United 27 States, including through distribution platforms such as the Apple iTunes App Store 28 -15Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 16 of 98 Page ID #:16 1 and the Google Android Play Store, the Microsoft Store, as well as its own websites, 2 www.twitter.com and business.twitter.com. 3 63. On information and belief, the accused Twitter application and Twitter 4 Ads service are the primary or only products and services offered by Twitter in the 5 United States. 6 64. On information and belief, Defendant encourages users of mobile and 7 computing devices such as mobile phones and desktop and laptop computers in the 8 United States to download and use the infringing Twitter application, and such users 9 download and use the infringing application in the manner Defendant intends such 10 application to be used. Moreover, Defendant encourages advertisers and businesses 11 in the United States to use the infringing Twitter Ads service, and such advertisers 12 and businesses use the infringing service in the manner Defendant intends such 13 service to be used. 14 65. On information and belief, Defendant has also designed, developed, 15 tested, and used the infringing applications and services in and within the United 16 States. 17 18 COUNT I: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,676,929 66. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 19 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 20 21 The ’929 Patent 67. The ’929 Patent claims, among other things, “[a] server, comprising: a 22 database organized into a plurality of memory location channels, each of the 23 memory location channels storing information of a same category as a pre-defined 24 category of each of the respective memory location channels, wherein upon 25 detection of a triggering event comprising a time triggering event, determining the 26 information relevant to the detected triggering event from among information stored 27 in one of the plurality of memory location channels of the database, when the 28 information relevant to the detected triggering event comprises content information, -16Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 17 of 98 Page ID #:17 1 inserting into the content information a meta tag for one or more advertisements to 2 be displayed with the content information that includes the meta tag to a mobile 3 device, wherein the meta tag identifies the one or more advertisements and 4 advertisement display requirements, and wherein the one or more advertisements are 5 selected based on the detected triggering event.” ’929 Patent at claim 1. 6 The Inventions Claimed in the ’929 Patent Were Not 7 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 8 68. The use of a server to detect a time triggering event, determine 9 information relevant to the detected time triggering event, and insert a meta tag into 10 content information corresponding to the detected time triggering event that 11 identifies one or more advertisements or advertisement display requirements 12 selected based on the detected triggering event, was not common or conventional at 13 the time of the ’929 Patent. 14 69. The inventors of the ’929 Patent recognized that when transmitting 15 content triggered by, for example, a time triggering event, the insertion of a meta tag 16 into content information could further facilitate the delivery of relevant and timely 17 advertising information to mobile users. As taught by the ’929 Patent, the disclosed 18 invention “provides a method of combining the information so that the mobile 19 device user has a consistent and transparent experience of receiving both 20 information content and advertising content.” ’929 Patent at 3:1-4. 21 70. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’929 Patent, 22 the inventive concepts of the ’929 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 23 routine. The ’929 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional and 24 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of mobile 25 communication devices, and the delivery of advertising content to such devices. 26 The solution implemented by the ’929 Patent provides a specific and substantial 27 improvement over prior communication systems used for this purpose, resulting in 28 an improved system for the delivery of relevant and timely content and advertising -17Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 18 of 98 Page ID #:18 1 information to mobile device users. The ’929 Patent achieves this result by 2 introducing novel elements directed to improving the function and working of 3 mobile communication systems such as, among other things, the claimed “a server” 4 (all claims), positioned in a wireless network and configured according to the 5 claims, the capability of the claimed server to detect a “time triggering event” and 6 determine information relevant to the triggering event (all claims), and the capability 7 of inserting into content information corresponding to the time triggering event a 8 meta tag that identifies one or more advertisements and advertisement display 9 requirements that are selected based on the time triggering event (all claims). 10 71. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in wireless 11 communication to mobile devices, the ’929 Patent’s solutions are also rooted in the 12 same technology that cannot be performed with pen and paper or in the human 13 mind. 14 72. This technical context is reflected in the ’929 Patent’s claims. For 15 example, the claims recite “a server” that detects a “time triggering event,” 16 determines information relevant to the detected triggering event, and which 17 transmits information over a “wireless network” to a “mobile device” with a “meta 18 tag” that identifies the one or more advertisements and advertisement display 19 requirements. 20 73. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 21 the ’929 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 22 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 23 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’929 Patent and the problem it was 24 specifically designed to address, which arose in the context of needing an improved 25 system for delivering content, including advertising content, from an information 26 source to mobile users over a wireless network. Doing so would also run counter to 27 the inventors’ detailed description of the inventions and the language of the claims 28 and be a practical impossibility. -18Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 19 of 98 Page ID #:19 1 2 ’929 Patent Allegations 74. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 3 doctrine of equivalents, the ’929 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., 4 directly by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing into the United 5 States without authority or license, the Twitter advertising platform including 6 Twitter Ads, which transmits targeted advertisements to Twitter users, as well as 7 associated backend servers and systems (hereinafter “the ’929 Accused Products”) 8 that infringe at least claims 1, 2, 9 and 10 of the ’929 Patent. The ’929 Accused 9 Products are non-limiting examples identified based on publicly available 10 information, and BlackBerry reserves the right to identify additional infringing 11 activities, products and services, including, for example, on the basis of information 12 obtained during discovery. 13 75. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’929 14 Accused Products include a server capable of detecting a time triggering event and, 15 based on the time triggering event, sending to a mobile device advertisements and 16 content information with a “meta tag” to identify one or more advertisements and 17 advertisement display requirements. 18 76. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 19 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claims 9 and 10 of the ’929 20 Patent in connection with the Twitter advertising platform and associated backend 21 servers and systems. This description is based on publicly available information. 22 BlackBerry reserves the right to modify this description including, for example, on 23 the basis of information about the ’929 Accused Products that it obtains during 24 discovery. 25 9(a) A server, comprising: – Defendant makes and/or uses Twitter Ads, the 26 Twitter application, and the www.twitter.com website, and associated backend 27 servers and systems. Regardless of whether the preamble of claim 9 adds any 28 substantive limitation to the claim, the claim language is met by the ’929 Accused -19Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 20 of 98 Page ID #:20 1 Products, as the ’929 Accused Products include a server comprising the elements 2 further described below for the remaining claim limitations. 3 9(b) a database organized into a plurality of memory location channels, each 4 of the memory location channels storing information of a same category as a pre5 defined category of each of the respective memory location channels, – The Twitter 6 application includes a news feed feature that allows users to watch video clips as 7 well as to receive Tweet content from various sources, including advertisers. On 8 information and belief, these features are enabled by a database on the Twitter 9 server comprising a plurality of memory locations, each channel corresponding to a 10 pre-defined category of information that users may wish to access, such as other 11 Twitter accounts that they follow. 12 The Twitter advertising platform includes tools such as Twitter Ads used by 13 advertisers to send information over the Internet to a Twitter server that, on 14 information and belief, stores the information to one of a plurality of memory 15 location channels of the database based on pre-defined categories. On information 16 and belief, the channels include one or more content categories of interest selected 17 by Twitter users, categories developed by Defendant corresponding to interests of 18 Twitter users and/or demographics such as the age, gender, or location of users. For 19 example, Twitter Ads allows advertisers to create and save advertisements 20 according to, among other things, one or more demographics (e.g., age, gender, 21 location), user interests (e.g., Business, Events, Gaming), who users follow, and past 22 behaviors (e.g., donations). On information and belief, such advertising information 23 is stored in the database based on the foregoing criteria. 24 25 26 27 28 -20Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 21 of 98 Page ID #:21 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting.html; see also https://business.twitter.com/ 20 en/help/campaign-setup/campaign-targeting/geo-gender-and-language21 targeting.html (“Geo, gender, language, and age targeting”); 22 https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/follower.html (“Target people based on 23 who they follow”); https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/geo-and-language.html 24 (“Geography and language targeting”)); 25 26 27 28 -21Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 22 of 98 Page ID #:22 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/interest.html (“Target based on broad 14 interest categories”); 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -22Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 23 of 98 Page ID #:23 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/behavior.html (“Behavior targeting 17 enables you to reach audiences on Twitter based on their shopping behavior, 18 lifestyle, and other key attributes.”)). 19 9(c) wherein upon detection of a triggering event comprising a time 20 triggering event, determining the information relevant to the detected triggering 21 event from among information stored in one of the plurality of memory location 22 channels of the database, – The Twitter application allows users to subscribe to or 23 “follow” other users and content streams and to receive notifications/live updates. 24 On information and belief, these notifications correspond to a “time triggering 25 event” in some cases—e.g., a predetermined release time for Tweet content, for 26 example (see, e.g., https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-editing-and- 27 optimization/scheduled-tweets.html), a predetermined time for a particular event 28 (see, e.g., https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-setup/campaign-targeting/ -23Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 24 of 98 Page ID #:24 1 event-targeting.html (“Event targeting allows advertisers to quickly and easily 2 discover, plan for, and activate events on Twitter. Our Event calendar, found in your 3 ads account, surfaces hundreds of events around the world showing the people who 4 are interested or participating. Our one-click campaign activation allows you to 5 easily and directly reach that audience.”)), or a time period during which ad content 6 is to be inserted into videos published by popular creators and publishers (see 7 https://media.twitter.com/en_us/articles/products/2018/in-stream-video-ads-for8 publishers.html). Accordingly, Twitter Ads allows advertisers to run advertisements 9 based on a specified time schedule. On information and belief, the advertiser- 10 specified times for publishing ads corresponds to a “time triggering event,” for 11 example. On information and belief, upon detection of the time triggering event, the 12 Twitter server determines the information relevant to the detected triggering event 13 from among information stored in the plurality of memory location channels in the 14 database. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -24Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 25 of 98 Page ID #:25 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 (https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-editing-and-optimization/scheduled15 tweets.html); see also: 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -25Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 26 of 98 Page ID #:26 1 Ex. I (screenshot when logged into Twitter account from https://ads.twitter.com/ 2 campaign/18ce54tgi4k/new/campaign/setup?objective=9 as of January 20, 2019). 3 9(d) when the information relevant to the detected triggering event comprises 4 content information, inserting into the content information a meta tag for one or 5 more advertisements to be displayed with the content information, and transmitting 6 the content information that includes the meta tag to a mobile device, – On 7 information and belief, when the information relevant to the detected triggering 8 event comprises content information, Twitter inserts into the content information a 9 meta tag for one or more advertisements to be displayed with the content 10 information, and transmits the content information that includes the meta tag to a 11 mobile device. For example, Twitter’s in-stream video ads are inserted into content 12 information sent to mobile devices by the Twitter server. (See 13 https://media.twitter.com/en_us/articles/products/2018/in-stream-video-ads-for14 publishers.html.) Additionally, Twitter’s Promoted Tweets include content 15 information as well as advertisements to be displayed with the content information. 16 On information and belief, when content is delivered to a mobile device, the content 17 includes “meta tags” or indications of where and when certain advertising 18 information should be inserted. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -26Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 27 of 98 Page ID #:27 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (https://instapage.com/blog/what-are-promoted-tweets.) 14 9(e) wherein the meta tag identifies the one or more advertisements and 15 advertisement display requirements, and wherein the one or more advertisements 16 are selected based on the detected triggering event. – On information and belief, the 17 meta tags inserted into content information identify the advertisements and 18 advertisement display requirements that should accompany the delivered content. 19 For example, Twitter provides various templates for different styles for promoted 20 Tweets, where each template includes display requirements. (See, e.g., 21 https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-setup/advertiser-card22 specifications.html.) On information and belief, the selected advertisements are 23 tailored according to several user characteristics, including the detected triggering 24 event. Twitter advertisements can be designed to reach a specified audience. When 25 created, these advertisements can be directed toward audiences of a particular 26 demographic, in a particular geographic region, or with a particular interest. On 27 information and belief, the desired audience parameters selected by the advertiser 28 are used to select advertisements to be delivered to a particular mobile device (i.e., -27Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 28 of 98 Page ID #:28 1 in determining which metatag to apply to a given set of content information). On 2 information and belief, the time triggering event is among the information used by 3 the server to select the appropriate advertisement. 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting.html; see also https://business.twitter.com/ 23 en/help/campaign-setup/campaign-targeting/geo-gender-and-language24 targeting.html (“Geo, gender, language, and age targeting”); 25 https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/follower.html (“Target people based on 26 who they follow”); https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/geo-and-language.html 27 (“Geography and language targeting”)); 28 -28Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 29 of 98 Page ID #:29 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/interest.html (“Target based on broad 14 interest categories”); 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -29Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 30 of 98 Page ID #:30 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/behavior.html (“Behavior targeting 17 enables you to reach audiences on Twitter based on their shopping behavior, 18 lifestyle, and other key attributes.”)); 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 (https://media.twitter.com/en_us/articles/products/2018/in-stream-video-ads-for28 publishers.html.); -30Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 31 of 98 Page ID #:31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 (https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-editing-and-optimization/scheduled19 tweets.html); 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -31Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 32 of 98 Page ID #:32 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (https://instapage.com/blog/what-are-promoted-tweets). 14 77. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’929 15 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 16 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 17 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 18 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 19 78. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 20 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’929 Patent, 21 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 22 23 COUNT II: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,296,351 79. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 24 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. The ’351 Patent 25 26 80. The ’351 Patent discloses, among other things, a “system for pushing 27 information to a mobile device” involving a “proxy content server,” which “is 28 coupled to [an] information source and [a] wireless network.” ’351 Patent at -32Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 33 of 98 Page ID #:33 1 Abstract. The proxy content server “stores information received from the 2 information source to one of a plurality of channels based on predefined information 3 categories, and automatically transmits information from a selected channel over the 4 wireless network to the mobile device.” Id. 5 81. The ’351 Patent teaches a proxy content server that provides targeted 6 advertising information (see, e.g., id. at 4:28-46) and “aggregates existing 7 information, such as Internet or Intranet content, from one or more Information 8 sources, and pushes the information to a mobile device.” Id. at 2:59-62. This 9 configuration “provides a method of combining the information so that the mobile 10 device user has a consistent and transparent experience of receiving both 11 information content and advertising content.” Id. at 2:63-66. The ’351 Patent 12 inventors recognized that providing targeted advertisements and content was 13 important “to achieve a revenue source for the provider of the information so the 14 mobile device user gets a reduce[d] or free information service.” Id. at 3:16-19. 15 82. Fig. 1 of the ’351 Patent shows an exemplary network architecture 16 according to an embodiment of the Patent for such a push notification system to 17 improve the delivery of advertising content to mobile users. Figure 1 illustrates “a 18 plurality of Information Sources 10, a Proxy Content Server 18, a Proxy Content 19 Server Database 19, and a plurality of mobile devices 24.” Id. at 2:21-23. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -33Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 34 of 98 Page ID #:34 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 83. The ’351 Patent thus claims, among other things, “[a] system for 15 pushing information to a mobile device, comprising: a proxy content server that 16 receives information over a computer network from an information source and 17 stores the information to one of a plurality of channels based on pre-defined 18 information categories, wherein the plurality of channels comprise memory 19 locations included in at least one of the proxy content server or a proxy content 20 server database; the proxy content server to receive a feedback signal over a 21 wireless network that indicates a position of the mobile device, and to use the 22 feedback signal to select a channel for transmission of the information from the 23 selected channel over the wireless network to the mobile device, wherein the 24 information comprises at least one of static advertising information, dynamic 25 advertising information, default advertising information, or content information, and 26 wherein a combination of the static advertising information with one of the dynamic 27 or default advertising information comprises an advertisement or an information 28 bulletin.” Id. at Claim 1. -34Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 35 of 98 Page ID #:35 1 The Inventions Claimed in the ’351 Patent Were Not 2 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 3 84. The use of a proxy content server to receive information over a 4 computer network from an information source and store the information to one of a 5 plurality of channels based on pre-defined information categories, wherein the 6 plurality of channels comprise memory locations included in at least one of the 7 proxy content server or a proxy content server database, and to receive a feedback 8 signal over a wireless network that indicates the position of the mobile device and to 9 use the feedback signal to select a channel for transmission of the information from 10 the selected channel over the wireless network to the mobile device, wherein the 11 information comprises at least one of static advertising information, dynamic 12 advertising information, default advertising information, or content information, and 13 wherein a combination of the static advertising information with one of the dynamic 14 or default advertising information comprises an advertisement or an information 15 bulletin, was not common or conventional at the time of the ’351 Patent. 16 85. The inventors of the ’351 Patent recognized the need to transmit 17 targeted advertising, facilitated by a proxy content server, in order to deliver 18 relevant and timely advertising information to mobile users. As taught by the ’351 19 Patent, the “Proxy Content Server [] provides a method of combining the 20 information so that the mobile device user has a consistent and transparent 21 experience of receiving both information content and advertising content.” Id. at 22 2:63-66. 23 86. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’351 Patent, 24 the inventive concepts of the ’351 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 25 routine. The ’351 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional and 26 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of wireless 27 communication devices, and the delivery of advertising content to such devices. 28 The solution implemented by the ’351 Patent provides a specific and substantial -35Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 36 of 98 Page ID #:36 1 improvement over prior wireless communication systems used for this purpose, 2 resulting in an improved system for the delivery of relevant and timely advertising 3 information to mobile device users. The ’351 Patent achieves this result by 4 introducing novel elements directed to improving the function and working of 5 wireless communication systems such as, among other things, the claimed “proxy 6 content server” (all claims), positioned in a wireless network and configured 7 according to the claims, the capability of the proxy content server to “receive a 8 feedback signal over a wireless network that indicates a position of the mobile 9 device, and to use the feedback signal to select a channel for transmission of the 10 information from the selected channel over the wireless network to the mobile 11 device,” (claims 1-13) and the capability to combine “static advertising information 12 with one of [] dynamic or default advertising information” to result in “an 13 advertisement or an information bulletin” (all claims). 14 87. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in wireless 15 communication to mobile devices, the ’351 Patent’s solutions are also rooted in the 16 same technology that cannot be performed with pen and paper or in the human 17 mind. 18 88. This technical context is reflected in the ’351 Patent’s claims. For 19 example, the claims recite a “proxy content server that receives information over 20 computer network from an information source” and which transmits information 21 over a “wireless network” to “mobile devices.” 22 89. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 23 the ’351 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 24 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 25 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’351 Patent and the problem it was 26 specifically designed to address, which arose in the context of needing an improved 27 system for delivering content, including advertising content, from an information 28 source to mobile users over a wireless network. Doing so would also run counter to -36Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 37 of 98 Page ID #:37 1 the inventors’ detailed description of the inventions and the language of the claims 2 and be a practical impossibility. 3 4 ’351 Patent Allegations 90. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 5 doctrine of equivalents, the ’351 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., 6 directly, by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing into the 7 United States without authority or license, the Twitter advertising platform 8 including Twitter Ads, which transmits targeted advertisements to Twitter users, as 9 well as associated backend servers and systems (hereinafter “the ’351 Accused 10 Products”) that infringe at least claims 1 and 14 of the ’351 Patent. The ’351 11 Accused Products are a non-limiting example that was identified based on publicly 12 available information, and BlackBerry reserves the right to identify additional 13 infringing activities, products and services, including, for example, on the basis of 14 information obtained during discovery. 15 91. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’351 16 Accused Products include a proxy content server that receives information from an 17 information source, stores the information in one of a plurality of channels, receives 18 a feedback signal over a wireless network that indicates a position of a mobile 19 device, uses the feedback signal to select a channel for transmission of the 20 information over the wireless network to the mobile device, wherein the information 21 comprises at least one of static advertising information, dynamic advertising 22 information, default advertising information, or content information, and wherein a 23 combination of the static advertising information with one of the dynamic or default 24 advertising information comprises an advertisement or an information bulletin. 25 92. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 26 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claim 1 of the ’351 Patent in 27 connection with the Twitter advertising platform and associated backend servers and 28 systems. This description is based on publicly available information. BlackBerry -37Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 38 of 98 Page ID #:38 1 reserves the right to modify this description, including, for example, on the basis of 2 information about the ’351 Accused Products that it obtains during discovery. 3 1(a) A system for pushing information to a mobile device, comprising: – 4 Defendant makes and/or uses Twitter Ads, the Twitter application, and the 5 www.twitter.com website, and associated backend servers and systems. Regardless 6 of whether the preamble of claim 1 adds any substantive limitation to the claim, the 7 claim language is met by the ’351 Accused Products, as the ’351 Accused Products 8 comprise a system for pushing information to mobile devices, including the mobile 9 devices of Twitter users. 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -38Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 39 of 98 Page ID #:39 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 (https://ads.twitter.com/login). 1(b) a proxy content server that receives information over a computer network from an information source and stores the information to one of a plurality of channels based on pre-defined information categories, wherein the plurality of channels comprise memory locations included in at least one of the proxy content server or a proxy content server database; – On information and belief, Defendant’s advertising platform includes tools such as Twitter Ads and Ads Manager used by information sources such as advertisers or a Twitter advertisement intake server to send information over the Internet or Intranet to a Twitter proxy content server that stores the information to one of a plurality of channels based on pre-defined information categories. 26 27 28 -39Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 40 of 98 Page ID #:40 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-setup/twitter-ads-manager.html). 9 On information and belief, the plurality of channels based on pre-defined 10 information categories include one or more content categories of interest selected by 11 Twitter users, categories developed by Defendant corresponding to interests of 12 Twitter users and/or demographics such as the age, gender, or location of users. On 13 information and belief, the plurality of channels comprise memory locations 14 included in at least one of the proxy content server or a proxy content server 15 database. For example, Twitter Ads allows advertisers to create and save 16 advertisements according to, among other things, one or more demographics (e.g., 17 age, gender, location), user interests (e.g., Business, Events, Gaming), who users 18 follow, and past behaviors (e.g., donations). On information and belief, such 19 advertising information is stored at the Twitter proxy content server or proxy 20 content server database based on the foregoing criteria. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -40Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 41 of 98 Page ID #:41 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting.html; see also https://business.twitter.com/ 22 en/help/campaign-setup/campaign-targeting/geo-gender-and-language23 targeting.html (“Geo, gender, language, and age targeting”); 24 https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/follower.html (“Target people based on 25 who they follow”); https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/geo-and-language.html 26 (“Geography and language targeting”)); 27 28 -41Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 42 of 98 Page ID #:42 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/interest.html (“Target based on broad 14 interest categories”); 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -42Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 43 of 98 Page ID #:43 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 (https://business.twitter.com/en/targeting/behavior.html (“Behavior targeting 17 enables you to reach audiences on Twitter based on their shopping behavior, 18 lifestyle, and other key attributes.”)). 19 1(c) the proxy content server to receive a feedback signal over a wireless 20 network that indicates a position of the mobile device, and to use the feedback 21 signal to select a channel for transmission of the information from the selected 22 channel over the wireless network to the mobile device, – Advertisements through 23 the Twitter advertising platform can be designed to reach a specified audience. 24 When created, these advertisements can be directed towards audiences of a 25 particular demographic, audiences in a particular geographic region, and audiences 26 with a particular interest, among others. For example, the Twitter advertising 27 platform sends targeted advertisements based on user location such that, on 28 information and belief, the Twitter proxy content server sends advertising -43Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 44 of 98 Page ID #:44 1 information to users based on location of the user as indicated by a feedback signal 2 sent from the user’s device over a wireless network to the Twitter proxy content 3 server. On information and belief, the Twitter proxy content server selects the 4 channel for transmission of information to the mobile device using the feedback 5 signal as well as additional criteria, including the user demographics, and/or the 6 user’s behavior, for example. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (https://business.twitter.com/en/help/campaign-setup/campaign-targeting/geo21 gender-and-language-targeting.html). 22 Additionally, on information and belief, the Twitter application enables 23 location tracking of a user’s mobile device by default. 24 25 26 27 28 -44Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 45 of 98 Page ID #:45 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ; see also: 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -45Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 46 of 98 Page ID #:46 1 (https://help.twitter.com/en/safety-and-security/twitter-location-services-for2 mobile). 3 1(d) wherein the information comprises at least one of static advertising 4 information, dynamic advertising information, default advertising information, or 5 content information, and wherein a combination of the static advertising 6 information with one of the dynamic or default advertising information comprises 7 an advertisement or an information bulletin. – On information and belief, 8 advertisements seen on at least Twitter include static advertising information that 9 relates to an identity of the advertiser, such as the name and logo of the advertiser, 10 and that is combined with dynamic and default advertising information that relates 11 to a specific advertisement that is or is not time-sensitive, such as an advertisement 12 image, description, “call to action” item and associated link(s). 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -46Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 47 of 98 Page ID #:47 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 (https://instapage.com/blog/what-are-promoted-tweets). 13 93. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’351 14 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 15 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 16 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 17 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 18 94. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 19 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’351 Patent, 20 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 21 22 COUNT III: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 9,349,120 95. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 23 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. The ’120 Patent 24 25 96. The ’120 Patent discloses, among other things, “[m]ethods, systems, 26 and computer programming products . . . for silencing message threads” whereby 27 “[o]nce a message thread has been silenced, the user will no longer receive 28 notifications of new messages added to the thread.” ’120 Patent, Abstract. -47Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 48 of 98 Page ID #:48 1 97. The ’120 Patent explains that “[e]lectronic messages, such as electronic 2 mail messages and messages posted to group sites, can be grouped into message 3 threads. Each message thread can relate to a particular matter such as a particular 4 topic of conversation or an activity. For example, a user may be part of an email 5 group which is involved in an ongoing discussion. Each email in the discussion 6 could be included in the same message thread. A user may receive a notification 7 each time an electronic message is received. Notifications could include, for 8 example, auditory user alerts such as ring tones, visual alerts such as flashing lights 9 or pop-ups and physical alerts such as vibrations.” Id. at 1:22-32. 10 98. The ’120 Patent provides a user with the capability to silence such 11 notifications on a per-thread basis, thereby overriding a currently enabled 12 notification setting and allowing notifications to be received for other non-silenced 13 threads. Id. at 2:22-49. Figures 5 and 6 of the ’120 Patent detail an exemplary 14 method by which such notification silencing for a method thread occurs. As shown 15 in Fig. 5, “[a] method 500 can begin at 502 where a user can, using suitably16 configured GUI(s) and input device, select a message inbox. [An] inbox generally 17 refers to a virtual folder with which incoming messages are initially associated. . . . 18 At 504, the user selects a message thread using, for example, a user interface such as 19 a GUI 304, displaying one or more selectable options such as a list of one or more 20 message threads. A message thread may be selected by the user by, for example, 21 selecting a displayed, selectable option associated with the message thread using 22 point-and-click functionality as described above. At 506, a user can silence a 23 message thread or reactivate a message thread that had previously been silenced 24 with respect to a device the user is using.” Id. at 11:11-13:1. 25 26 27 28 -48Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 49 of 98 Page ID #:49 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Id. at Fig. 5. 15 99. Fig. 6 shows an exemplary method of handling an incoming electronic 16 message depending on whether or not the message thread with which the message is 17 associated has been silenced. “A method 600 can begin at 602 where a message is 18 received which is addressed or otherwise identified in such a way as to be associated 19 with an inbox. . . . At 604, it may be determined whether or not the message relates 20 to a new matter, such as a new topic of conversation or a new activity. . . . If the 21 message does relate to a new matter, at 606, a new message thread is started. At 608, 22 the user is notified of the message according to any currently-enabled notification 23 settings, as described above. If the message does not relate to a new matter, at 610, 24 a thread to which the message belongs may be determined. . . . At 612, it is may 25 determined whether or not the message thread to which the message belongs has 26 been silenced by the user. For example, a data record in memory 300 which is 27 associated with the message thread may be checked to determine whether a flag has 28 been set indicating that the thread has been silenced. If the message thread has been -49Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 50 of 98 Page ID #:50 1 silenced by the user then no notification may be activated. . . . If the message thread 2 has not been silenced by the user, then at 616 the user may be notified of the 3 incoming message according to any currently-enabled notification settings.” Id. at 4 14:5-55. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Id. at Fig. 6. 19 100. The ’120 Patent claims, among other things, “[a] method for silencing 20 notifications for incoming electronic messages to a communication system, the 21 communication system comprising a data processor, media readable by the data 22 processor and a communications subsystem, the communications subsystem adapted 23 to receive the incoming electronic messages, the method comprising: receiving one 24 or more selected message threads for silencing; in response to receiving the one or 25 more selected message threads, activating one or more flags, each flag in association 26 with a selected message thread of the one or more selected message threads, wherein 27 the one or more flags indicate that the associated one or more selected message 28 threads have been silenced; receiving a new incoming electronic message; -50Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 51 of 98 Page ID #:51 1 identifying the new incoming message as associated with the selected one or more 2 message threads; determining that a message thread associated with the new 3 incoming message has been flagged as silenced using the one or more flags; 4 overriding at least one currently-enabled notification setting to prevent a notification 5 pertaining to receipt of the new incoming message from being activated; and 6 displaying the new incoming electronic message in an inbox together with any 7 message thread not flagged as silenced, while silencing any further notifications 8 pertaining to receipt of the new incoming electronic message; wherein the new 9 incoming message thread flagged as silenced is displayed in the inbox in a different 10 manner than any message thread not flagged as silenced.” Id. at claim 13. 11 The Inventions Claimed in the ’120 Patent Were Not 12 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 13 101. A communication system enabling a flag associated with an electronic 14 message thread to be activated in order to silence notifications for the message 15 thread and thereby override a currently-enabled notification setting was not common 16 or conventional at the time of the ’120 Patent. 17 102. The inventor of the ’120 Patent recognized the need in electronic 18 communications systems to silence notifications for specific message threads while 19 still allowing new incoming messages in the silenced threads to be displayed in an 20 inbox together with any message thread not flagged as silenced. 21 Abstract. ’120 Patent, The inventor further identified the benefit of solving this described 22 problem by providing a communication system enabling “receiving a new incoming 23 electronic message; identifying the new incoming message as associated with one or 24 more message threads; determining that a message thread associated with the new 25 incoming message has been flagged as silenced; and overriding at least one 26 currently-enabled notification setting to prevent a notification pertaining to receipt 27 of the new incoming message from being activated.” Id. at 2:42-49. Thus, 28 -51Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 52 of 98 Page ID #:52 1 notifications for messages associated with a specific messaging thread may be 2 silenced while still allowing for notifications from non-silenced message threads. 3 103. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’120 Patent, 4 the inventive concepts of the ’120 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 5 routine. The ’120 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional and 6 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of electronic 7 communications systems and electronic messaging received within those 8 communications systems. The solution implemented by the ’120 Patent provides a 9 specific and substantial improvement over prior messaging notification systems, 10 resulting in an improved electronic communications system, including by 11 introducing novel elements directed to improving the function and working of 12 communications systems such as, among other things, the claimed “activating one 13 or more flags, each flag in association with a selected message thread of the one or 14 more selected message threads, wherein the one or more flags indicate that the 15 associated one or more selected message threads have been silenced” (claims 13 and 16 24; substantially similar limitation in claim 1), “determining that a message thread 17 associated with the new incoming message has been flagged as silenced using the 18 one or more flags” (claims 13 and 24; substantially similar limitation in claim 1), 19 and “displaying the new incoming electronic message in an inbox together with any 20 message thread not flagged as silenced, while silencing any further notifications 21 pertaining to receipt of the new incoming electronic message; wherein the new 22 incoming message thread flagged as silenced is displayed in the inbox in a different 23 manner than any message thread not flagged as silenced” (claims 13 and 24; 24 substantially similar limitation in claim 1). 25 104. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in electronic 26 messaging between wireless communications devices, the ’120 Patent’s solutions 27 naturally are also rooted in the same technology that cannot be performed with pen 28 and paper or in the human mind. -52Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 53 of 98 Page ID #:53 1 105. This technical context is reflected in the ’120 Patent’s claims. For 2 example, various claims of the ’120 Patent require one or more electronic messages 3 associated with one or more message threads, selected message thread(s) for 4 silencing, settings for notifications pertaining to receipt of new incoming electronic 5 messages associated with one or more such threads, and displaying such messages 6 in an inbox. 7 106. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 8 the ’120 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 9 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 10 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’120 Patent and the problem it was 11 specifically designed to address. Doing so would also run counter to the inventors’ 12 detailed description of the inventions and the language of the claims and be a 13 practical impossibility. 14 15 ’120 Patent Allegations 107. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 16 doctrine of equivalents, the ’120 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., 17 directly and/or indirectly, by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or 18 importing into the United States without authority or license, the Twitter application 19 (hereinafter “the ’120 Accused Products”) that infringes at least claims 1, 13, and 24 20 of the ’120 Patent. 21 108. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’120 22 Accused Products contain messaging functionality designed and used to silence 23 notifications for selected conversation threads thereby overriding a currently24 enabled notification setting in an infringing manner. 25 109. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 26 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claim 24 of the ’120 Patent 27 in connection with the Twitter application. This description is based on publicly 28 available information. BlackBerry reserves the right to modify this description, -53Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 54 of 98 Page ID #:54 1 including, for example, on the basis of information about the ’120 Accused Products 2 that it obtains during discovery. 3 1(a) A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising processing 4 instructions which when executed by a data processor cause the data processor to 5 perform a method for silencing notifications for incoming electronic messages to a 6 communication system, the method comprising: – Defendant makes and uses the 7 Twitter application. Regardless of whether the preamble of claim 1 adds any 8 substantive limitation to the claim, the claim language is met by the ’120 Accused 9 Products, as the ’120 Accused Products include a non-transitory computer readable 10 medium comprising processing instructions which when executed by a data 11 processor cause the data processor to perform a method of silencing notifications for 12 incoming electronic messages to a communication system as further described 13 below for the remaining claim limitations. 14 1(b) receiving one or more selected message threads for silencing; – 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -54Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 55 of 98 Page ID #:55 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -55Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 56 of 98 Page ID #:56 1 See also https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-mute-twitter-direct-message- 2 notifications-on-iphone-android-pc/; https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct3 messages#mute. 4 1(c) in response to receiving the one or more selected message threads, 5 activating one or more flags, each flag in association with a selected message 6 thread of the one or more selected message threads, wherein the one or more flags 7 indicate that the associated one or more selected message threads have been 8 silenced; – 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 See also https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-mute-twitter-direct-message- 24 notifications-on-iphone-android-pc/; https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct25 messages#mute. 26 1(d) identifying the new incoming message as associated with the selected one 27 or more message threads; determining that a message thread associated with the 28 new incoming message has been flagged as silenced using the one or more flags; – -56Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 57 of 98 Page ID #:57 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -57Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 58 of 98 Page ID #:58 1 See also https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-mute-twitter-direct-message- 2 notifications-on-iphone-android-pc/; https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct3 messages#mute. 4 1(e) overriding at least one currently-enabled notification setting to prevent a 5 notification pertaining to receipt of the new incoming message from being activated; 6 and – 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1(f) wherein the new incoming message thread flagged as silenced is 25 displayed in the inbox in a different manner than any message thread not flagged as 26 silenced. – 27 28 -58Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 59 of 98 Page ID #:59 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -59Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 60 of 98 Page ID #:60 1 See also https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-mute-twitter-direct-message- 2 notifications-on-iphone-android-pc/; https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct3 messages#mute. 4 110. Additionally, Defendant has been, and currently is, an active inducer of 5 infringement of the ’120 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) and a contributory 6 infringer of the ’120 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(c). 7 111. BlackBerry made Defendant aware of the ’120 Patent and its 8 infringement thereof by letter dated June 7, 2017. Ex. H. Accordingly, Defendant 9 has had actual knowledge of (or was willfully blind to the existence of) the ’120 10 Patent and its infringement thereof at least as of June 7, 2017, but has failed to take 11 any action to avoid infringement. Indeed, on information and belief, Defendant has 12 released over two dozen new versions of the iOS Twitter application since being put 13 on notice of its infringement—none of which removed the infringing functionality. 14 (See, e.g., https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8 (link to version 15 history contained therein).) Accordingly, Defendant knew that it infringed the ’120 16 Patent well before BlackBerry filed this action and, despite its knowledge, acted 17 egregiously and willfully by continuing to infringe the ’120 Patent. 18 112. Defendant has provided the ’120 Accused Products to its customers 19 and, on information and belief, instructions to use the ’120 Accused Products in an 20 infringing manner while being on notice of or willfully blind to the ’120 Patent and 21 Defendant’s infringement, and knowingly and intentionally encourages and aids its 22 customers to directly infringe the ’120 Patent. 23 113. Upon information and belief, Defendant provides the ’120 Accused 24 Products to customers through various third-party application stores (e.g., the Apple 25 App Store) and instructions to end-user customers so that such customers will use 26 the ’120 Accused Products in an infringing manner. For example, Defendant 27 provides instructions to end-user customers on how to set up, configure, and use 28 -60Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 61 of 98 Page ID #:61 1 various features of the ’120 Accused Products, as well as how to mute notifications 2 associated with Twitter Direct Messaging conversations.7 114. Defendant’s end-user customers directly infringe at least claims 1, 13, 3 4 and 24 of the ’120 Patent by using the ’120 Accused Products in their intended 5 manner to infringe. Defendant induces such infringement by providing the ’120 6 Accused Products and instructions to enable and facilitate infringement, knowing of, 7 or being willfully blind to the existence of, the ’120 Patent. Upon information and 8 belief, Defendant specifically intends that its actions will result in infringement of at 9 least claims 1, 13, and 24 of the ’120 Patent, or subjectively believes that its actions 10 will result in infringement of the ’120 Patent but has taken deliberate actions to 11 avoid learning of those facts, as set forth above. 115. Additionally, Defendant contributorily infringes at least claims 1, 13, 12 13 and 24 of the ’120 Patent by providing the ’120 Accused Products and/or software 14 components thereof, that embody a material part of the claimed inventions of the 15 ’120 Patent, that are known by Defendant to be specially made or adapted for use in 16 an infringing manner, and are not staple articles with substantial non-infringing 17 uses. The ’120 Accused Products are specially designed to infringe at least claims 18 1, 13, and 24 of the ’120 Patent, and their accused components have no substantial 19 non-infringing uses. In particular, on information and belief, the software modules 20 and code that implement and perform the infringing functionalities identified above 21 are specially made and adapted to carry out said functionality and do not have any 22 substantial non-infringing uses. 116. Defendant’s infringement of the ’120 Patent was and continues to be 23 24 willful and deliberate, entitling BlackBerry to enhanced damages and attorneys’ 25 fees. 26 27 28 7 See, e.g., https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct-messages#mute. -61Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 62 of 98 Page ID #:62 1 117. Additional discovery regarding Defendant’s knowledge of the ’120 2 Patent likely will uncover additional facts related to Defendant’s willful 3 infringement. 4 118. Defendant’s infringement of the ’120 Patent is exceptional and entitles 5 BlackBerry to attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in prosecuting this action under 35 6 U.S.C. § 285. 7 119. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’120 8 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 9 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 10 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 11 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 12 120. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 13 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’120 Patent, 14 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 15 16 COUNT IV: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 9,021,059 121. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 17 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 18 19 The ’059 Patent 122. The ’059 Patent discloses, among other things, an “[a]pparatus and 20 methods to engage in accessing informational content in a data hub server, where 21 the informational content is identified as public or partially public to a group 22 registered in the data hub server with permission to access the informational content 23 made public or partially public in the data hub server by another entity, provide a 24 mechanism to enhance the communication capabilities among mobile electronic 25 devices.” ’059 Patent, Abstract. 26 123. The inventors of the ’059 Patent recognized that “[i]mprovements to 27 the flow of information enhance one’s ability to interact with others, to respond to 28 changing needs, and to avail oneself of enjoyment from processing various media -62Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 63 of 98 Page ID #:63 1 based information.” Id. at 1:11-14. Accordingly, in various embodiments, the 2 inventors of the ’059 Patent described this improvement in the context of server 3 communications. Id. at 2:26-36. In particular, the ’059 Patent describes that 4 “informational content sourced from a server can be accessed in a data hub server by 5 another server in which the informational content is categorized in the data hub as 6 public data with respect the accessing server. The informational content can be 7 transferred to the data hub server from the server associated with the generation of 8 the informational content using directed transmission between the server and the 9 data hub server. The informational content can be transferred from the data hub 10 server to the accessing server using directed transmission between the data hub 11 server and the accessing server.” Id. The inventors therefore recognized that 12 informational content could be shared by the user of a first device with the user of a 13 second device without requiring the first user to download the content and upload it 14 to a server that then transmits the content to the second user. Rather, by using a data 15 hub server to notify the second user that the informational content is available, the 16 ’059 Patent discloses a novel and improved communications system that preserves 17 system bandwidth and battery life of mobile communications devices. 18 124. Figure 5, for example, illustrates a representative communications 19 system employing an embodiment of the ’059 Patent “where mobile electronic 20 devices 510 and 530 are mobile wireless devices and servers 505 and 525 are 21 wireless servers.” Id. at 15:52-54. Mobile electronic devices 510 and 530 indicate 22 status of informational content, such as, for example, a set of movie clips, by 23 marking it public or non-public. Id. at 15:51-67, 16:38-39. A representation of the 24 informational content is sent from the mobile electronic devices 510 and 530 to 25 respective servers 505 and 525. Id. at 16:1-4. The transfer may occur via, for 26 example, Wi-Fi or USB. Id. at 16:1-37. In some embodiments, mobile electronic 27 device 510 may have a share registration in server 525 (and vice versa). Id. at 16:128 4. -63Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 64 of 98 Page ID #:64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Id. at Fig. 5. 11 125. The ’059 Patent explains that “[u]pon receipt of the movie clips in 12 server 505, the status as to public or non-public is checked in server 505. The 13 determination of which users have access to the movie clips can have been made in 14 data hub server 502 previous to the reception of the movie clips in server 505. In 15 such a case, server 505 sends the movie clips to data hub server 502 in appropriate 16 format for transmission upon checking and determining the public status.” Id. at 17 16:38-45. A user registers in data hub server 502 or servers 505, 525 using a mobile 18 electronic device (e.g., 510, 530). Id. at 16:56-17:8. If marked with a public status, 19 the informational content can be made available to mobile devices on the data hub 20 server 502. Id. at 16:56-17:28. 21 126. In various embodiments of the ’059 Patent, servers send notifications to 22 mobile electronic devices that are registered clients. For example, upon receipt of 23 informational content received at a server, the server sends notification of the arrival 24 of the informational content to a mobile electronic device. Id. at 23:15-32. In 25 response, the mobile electronic device requests to download (or automatically 26 downloads) the informational content in response to the notification. Id. 27 127. The ’059 Patent thus describes, among other things, “[a] method 28 comprising making informational content, selected in a first mobile wireless device, -64Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 65 of 98 Page ID #:65 1 available to a second mobile wireless device using a data hub server; receiving a 2 representation of the informational content in the data hub server in a directed 3 transmission from a first server to the data hub server, the first mobile wireless 4 device being a client of the first server; and transmitting notification of the 5 informational content being available to the second mobile wireless device using a 6 directed transmission from the data hub server to a second server, the second mobile 7 wireless device being a client of the second server, the first server being separate 8 from the second server.” Id. at claim 1. 9 The Inventions Claimed in the ’059 Patent Were Not 10 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 11 128. The method of making informational content, selected in a first mobile 12 wireless device, available to a second mobile wireless device using a data hub 13 server, whereby the server receives a representation of the informational content 14 from a first server and transmits a notification of the informational content being 15 available to the second mobile wireless device using a directed transmission from 16 the data hub server to a second server, was not common or conventional at the time 17 of the ’059 Patent. 18 129. The inventors of ’059 Patent recognized that, in systems that manage 19 media content accessible to mobile electronic devices, “[i]mprovements to the flow 20 of information enhance one’s ability to interact with others, to respond to changing 21 needs, and to avail oneself of enjoyment from processing various media based 22 information.” ’059 Patent at 1:11-14. The ’059 Patent further describes that “using 23 servers, in connection with a data hub server, to manage the transfer of 24 informational content between mobile electronic client devices can reduce the 25 processing on the mobile electronic client devices with respect to the administration 26 aspects of the data transmission and extend the battery life of the mobile electronic 27 client devices.” Id. at 18:6-12. 28 -65Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 66 of 98 Page ID #:66 1 130. The inventors recognized that mobile wireless clients with shared 2 registration of a data hub server provides the benefit of “efficient transfer of 3 informational among such mobile wireless clients of different wireless servers 4 without the mobile wireless clients having a share registration in the same wireless 5 server.” Id. at 18:13-19. In this manner, the ’059 Patent is able to strike a desirable 6 balance between cost efficiency and convenient access to informational content. 7 18:3-12. 8 131. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’059 Patent, 9 the inventive concepts of the ’059 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 10 routine. The ’059 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional 11 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of electronic 12 communications systems and electronic messaging and information exchange 13 between mobile electronic devices within those systems. The solution implemented 14 by the ’059 Patent provides a specific and substantial improvement over prior 15 electronic messaging systems in electronic devices, including by introducing novel 16 elements directed to improving the function and working of communications 17 devices such as, among other things, the claimed “making informational content, 18 selected in a first mobile wireless device, available to a second mobile wireless 19 device using a data hub server” (claims 1, 11, and 16), “receiving a representation of 20 the informational content in the data hub server in a directed transmission from a 21 first server to the data hub server, the first mobile wireless device being a client of 22 the first server” (same), and “transmitting notification of the informational content 23 being available to the second mobile wireless device using a directed transmission 24 from the data hub server to a second server, the second mobile wireless device being 25 a client of the second server, the first server being separate from the second server” 26 (same). 27 132. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in electronic 28 messaging and information exchange between wireless communications devices, the -66Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 67 of 98 Page ID #:67 1 ’059 Patent’s solutions naturally are also rooted in the same technology that cannot 2 be performed with pen and paper or in the human mind. 3 133. This technical context is reflected in the ’059 Patent’s claims. For 4 example, various claims of the ’059 Patent require first and second mobile wireless 5 devices, a data hub server, first and second servers, electronic informational content, 6 and directed transmissions between servers. 7 134. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 8 the ’059 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 9 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 10 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’059 Patent and the problem it was 11 specifically designed to address. Doing so would also run counter to the inventors’ 12 detailed description of the inventions and the language of the claims and be a 13 practical impossibility. 14 15 ’059 Patent Allegations 135. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 16 doctrine of equivalents, the ’059 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., 17 directly, by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing into the 18 United States without authority or license, the Twitter application and associated 19 backend servers and systems (hereinafter “the ’059 Accused Products”) that 20 infringes at least claim 1, 11, and 16 of the ’059 Patent. 21 136. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’059 22 Accused Products contain messaging and information exchange functionality 23 designed and used to exchange information by transmitting a representation of 24 content to a data hub server that then provides a notification to one or more 25 recipients of availability of the content in an infringing manner. 26 137. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 27 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claim 1 of the ’059 Patent in 28 connection with the Twitter application and associated backend servers and systems. -67Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 68 of 98 Page ID #:68 1 This description is based on publicly available information. BlackBerry reserves the 2 right to modify this description, including, for example, on the basis of information 3 about the ’059 Accused Products that it obtains during discovery. 4 1(a) A method comprising: – Defendant makes and uses the Twitter 5 application. Regardless of whether the preamble of claim 1 adds any substantive 6 limitation to the claim, the claim language is met by the ’059 Accused Products, as 7 the ’059 Accused Products perform a method as further described below for the 8 remaining claim limitations. 9 1(b) making informational content, selected in a first mobile wireless device, 10 available to a second mobile wireless device using a data hub server; – For 11 example, on information and belief, a Twitter data hub server makes informational 12 content selected by a Twitter user’s mobile wireless device, such as a tweet or 13 advertisement to retweet, available to a second mobile wireless device, such as the 14 Twitter user’s followers. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/retweet-faqs; see also http://www.timdeboer.eu/paper_publishing/Twitter_An_Architectural_Review.pdf. 24 25 26 27 28 -68Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 69 of 98 Page ID #:69 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 1(b) receiving a representation of the informational content in the data hub server in a directed transmission from a first server to the data hub server, the first mobile wireless device being a client of the first server; and – For example, on information and belief, when a Twitter user retweets content, a Twitter data hub server receives a representation of that informational content via a directed transmission from a first server (e.g., the user’s Internet service provider). See, e.g., https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/topics/infrastructure/2017/theinfrastructure-behind-twitter-scale.html; http://highscalability.com/blog/2013/7/8/ the-architecture-twitter-uses-to-deal-with-150m-active-users.html; https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Twitter-Timeline-Scalability. 1(c) transmitting notification of the informational content being available to the second mobile wireless device using a directed transmission from the data hub server to a second server, the second mobile wireless device being a client of the second server, the first server being separate from the second server. – For example, on information and belief, Defendant transmits a notification of the informational content being available (e.g., the first user’s tweet or retweet) to the followers of the -69Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 70 of 98 Page ID #:70 1 first user, including a second user, via a directed transmission from the Twitter data 2 hub server to a second server, e.g., the followers’ respective transport POP servers 3 and/or edge POP servers, including of the second user. 4 https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/topics/infrastructure/2017/the5 infrastructure-behind-twitter-scale.html. The notification is a push notification 6 displayed via the Twitter application on the second user’s mobile device. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -70Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 71 of 98 Page ID #:71 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Twitter-Timeline-Scalability; see also 15 https://www.infoq.com/news/2009/06/Twitter-Architecture; 16 https://blog.evanweaver.com/2009/03/13/qcon-presentation/; 17 http://www.timdeboer.eu/paper_publishing/Twitter_An_Architectural_Review.pdf; 18 https://blog.twitter.com/engineering/en_us/topics/infrastructure/2017/the19 infrastructure-behind-twitter-scale.html; http://highscalability.com/blog/2013/7/8/ 20 the-architecture-twitter-uses-to-deal-with-150m-active-users.html; 21 https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Twitter-Timeline-Scalability. 22 138. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’059 23 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 24 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 25 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 26 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 27 28 -71Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 72 of 98 Page ID #:72 1 139. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 2 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’059 Patent, 3 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 4 5 COUNT V: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,286,089 140. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 6 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 7 8 The ’089 Patent 141. The ’089 Patent discloses, among other things, “a method of 9 representing new email messages on a communication device having a display. This 10 method comprises setting a new message flag when an email message is received by 11 the device; and displaying a new message indicator on the display when the new 12 message flag is set. The new message indicator can be displayed on a home screen 13 on the display. The new message flag can be unset when a messages screen is 14 selected on the device. A computer readable memory having recorded thereon 15 instructions to carry out this method is also provided, as well as a device comprising 16 such memory.” ’089 Patent, Abstract. 17 142. The ’089 Patent explains that “[s]ending and receiving data messages, 18 particularly email, on wireless mobile devices has become an increasingly important 19 feature. Email messages received by the device are typically viewed using a 20 graphical user interface (GUI), accessing a messages screen displayed on the 21 device's display.” Id. at 1:34-39. The ’089 Patent further explains that “[a 22 respective icon may be presented in association with each individual message in the 23 message list indicating whether the particular message has been opened or 24 unopened,” and “[a] counter indicating the number of unopened messages present 25 on the device may be displayed to the user such as on a home screen of the device.” 26 Id. at 1:41-51. However, the ’089 Patent recognized that “[m]any device users 27 receive far too many email messages for a simple unopened counter to be of much 28 use.” Id. at 1:52-57. To better inform users, some embodiments of the ’084 Patent -72Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 73 of 98 Page ID #:73 1 provide a presentation of new messages and a notification that a new message has 2 been received on a communications device. Id. at 3:6-36. In particular, when a new 3 message is received, a new message indicator is shown on the home screen of the 4 device or application. Id. This indicator is reset as soon as the device switches from 5 the home screen to a display that contains a listing of received messages and a 6 preview of the newly received message (e.g., by displaying a portion of the 7 message). Id. 8 143. The ’089 Patent explains further, “[i]n one embodiment, when there is a 9 new message received by the device, the device turns on a new message flag. When 10 the new message flag is on, the new messages indicator (e.g. 612 or LED) may be 11 displayed. The new message flag can be turned off such as when the messages 12 screen for displaying the message list is invoked or, in other embodiments, when all 13 individual new messages are determined to be old messages.” Id. at 3:37-43. 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Id. at Fig. 6B. 28 -73Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 74 of 98 Page ID #:74 1 144. The ’089 Patent provides “[d]isplay screen activity of the GUI is 2 described for representing the new message indicator (e.g. 612). In accordance with 3 the GUI, the user may navigate about a plurality of screens for example, moving 4 from a home or main screen to display screens of various applications or functions 5 such as an address book, messages screen displaying a list of email messages, 6 calendar, phone dialler [sic], Web browser, etc.” Id. at 7:23-30. 7 145. Figure 4B, for example, illustrates representative invocation operations 8 by which the patent enables a new messages indicator. In step 416, one display 9 screen is invoked. Id. at 7:34-35. Either a home screen (602) or “a messages screen 10 (not shown) for reviewing email messages and opening (reading) email for 11 example.” Id. at 7:34-37. The home screen displays a new messages indicator 12 based on whether there are new messages (step 418). Id. at 7:40-47. In other words, 13 the home screen displays the new messages indicator until the messages screen is 14 invoked, at which time the user is aware of the new messages. Id. The ’089 Patent 15 further explains that “when the messages screen is invoked (such as by user 16 selection), the messages screen is displayed (Step 424) and operations unset (e.g. 17 turn off) the message indicator flag (Step 426). When the home screen 602 is 18 accessed again before a new message arrives on the device 202, the home screen 19 602 will not display the new messages indicator 612.” Id. at 7:48-53. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -74Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 75 of 98 Page ID #:75 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Id. at Fig. 4B. 13 146. The ’089 Patent thus describes, among other things, “[a] method of 14 representing new electronic messages on a communication device having a display, 15 the method comprising: receiving a new electronic message, setting a new message 16 flag to indicate receipt of the new electronic message, representing, on a home 17 screen displayed on the display, a new message indicator when the new message 18 flag is set, receiving an invocation to switch the home screen displayed on the 19 display to a message inventory display screen for viewing a listing including a 20 plurality of electronic messages including the new electronic message, the message 21 inventory display screen displaying a preview, for each listed electronic message, of 22 either a subject line or of a portion of contents of the electronic message, the 23 contents of an electronic message being accessible upon receipt of a request to open 24 an electronic message from the list of messages, unsetting the new message flag in 25 response to the invocation to switch the home screen displayed on the display to the 26 message inventory display screen, the unsetting of the flag occurring without having 27 received a request to open the new electronic message, and receiving an invocation 28 to switch the message inventory display screen to the home screen, wherein the new -75Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 76 of 98 Page ID #:76 1 message indicator represented on the home screen is not displayed as a result of the 2 unsetting of the new message flag.” Id. at claim 1. 3 The Inventions Claimed in the ’089 Patent Were Not 4 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 5 147. A communication device having a display to set a new message flag to 6 indicate receipt of a new electronic message, representing on a home screen 7 displayed on the display a new message indicator when the new message flag is set, 8 receiving invocation to switch the home screen displayed on the display to a 9 message inventory display screen for viewing a listing including a plurality of 10 electronic messages including the new electronic message, unsetting the new 11 message flag in response to the invocation to switch the home screen to the message 12 inventory display screen, and receiving an invocation to switch the message 13 inventory display screen to the home screen, wherein the new message indicator 14 represented on the home screen is not displayed as a result of the unsetting of the 15 new message flag, was not common or conventional at the time of the invention of 16 the ’089 Patent. 17 148. The inventors of the ’089 Patent recognized that wireless and mobile 18 communication devices, such as cellular phones, were increasingly popular for 19 sending and receiving electronic messages. ’089 Patent at 1:22-36. These messages 20 were “typically presented in a message list showing limited information pertaining 21 to each message,” and respective icons indicated whether a particular message had 22 been opened or unopened. Id. at 1:39-45. Further, at the time of invention, “[a] 23 counter indicating the number of unopened messages present on the device may be 24 displayed to the user such as on a home screen of the device.” However, the 25 inventors of the ’089 Patent recognized that “[m]any device users receive far too 26 many email messages for a simple unopened counter to be of much use. The number 27 of unopened emails becomes so large that the count itself is largely irrelevant.” Id. 28 at 1:52-55. The inventors therefore recognized that “[t]hese users need some way to -76Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 77 of 98 Page ID #:77 1 be informed that they have new messages as distinct from unopened messages on 2 the device.” Id. at 1:56-57. 3 149. The inventors of the ’089 Patent recognized the benefit of solving this 4 described problem by providing an improved and more efficient electronic device in 5 which, among other things, a new message indicator is displayed on the home 6 screen of the device or application when a new message is received until a user 7 invokes the message inventory screen displaying all messages including the new 8 message, whereby the switch from the home screen to the inventory screen resets 9 the new message indicator. The display of the new message indicator is thereby 10 tailored to the user’s knowledge of new messages. 11 150. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’089 Patent, 12 the inventive concepts of the ’089 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 13 routine. The ’089 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional and 14 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of electronic 15 communications systems and electronic messaging received within those 16 communications systems. The solution implemented by the ’089 Patent provides a 17 specific and substantial improvement over prior messaging notification systems, 18 resulting in an improved electronic communication system, including by introducing 19 novel elements directed to improving the function and working of communications 20 systems such as, among other things, the claimed “setting a new message flag to 21 indicate receipt of the new electronic message,” (claim 1), “receiving an invocation 22 to switch the home screen displayed on the display to a message inventory display 23 screen for viewing a listing including a plurality of electronic messages including 24 the new electronic message, the message inventory display screen displaying a 25 preview, for each listed electronic message, of either a subject line or of a portion of 26 contents of the electronic message, the contents of an electronic message being 27 accessible upon receipt of a request to open an electronic message from the list of 28 messages;” (same), “unsetting the new message flag in response to the invocation to -77Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 78 of 98 Page ID #:78 1 switch the home screen displayed on the display to the message inventory display 2 screen, the unsetting of the flag occurring without having received a request to open 3 the new electronic message” (same), and “receiving an invocation to switch the 4 message inventory display screen to the home screen, wherein the new message 5 indicator represented on the home screen is not displayed as a result of the unsetting 6 of the new message flag” (same). 7 151. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in electronic 8 messaging between wireless communications devices, the ’089 Patent’s solutions 9 naturally are also rooted in the same technology that cannot be performed with pen 10 and paper or in the human mind. 11 152. This technical context is reflected in the ’089 Patent’s claims. For 12 example, various claims of the ’089 Patent require a communications device having 13 a display, a home screen displayed on the display, a message inventory display 14 screen displayed on the display, a new electronic message, and a new message flag. 15 Further, various claims of the ’089 Patent require a communications device having a 16 processor, memory, configured to receive a new electronic message, display a new 17 message indicator on a home screen, and receive invocations to switch to different 18 display screens. 19 153. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 20 the ’089 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 21 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 22 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’089 Patent and the problem it was 23 specifically designed to address. Doing so would also run counter to the inventors’ 24 detailed description of the invention and the language of the claims and be a 25 practical impossibility. 26 27 ’089 Patent Allegations 154. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 28 doctrine of equivalents, the ’089 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., -78Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 79 of 98 Page ID #:79 1 directly and/or indirectly, by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or 2 importing into the United States without authority or license, the Twitter application 3 (hereinafter “the ’089 Accused Products”) that infringes at least claim 1 of the ’089 4 Patent. 5 155. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’089 6 Accused Products contain messaging functionality designed and used to display a 7 new message indicator upon receipt of a new message, display a message inventory 8 screen, and affect the display of the new message indicator based on switching from 9 a home screen to the message inventory screen in an infringing manner. 10 156. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 11 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claim 1 of the ’089 Patent in 12 connection with the Twitter application. 13 available information. This description is based on publicly BlackBerry reserves the right to modify this description, 14 including, for example, on the basis of information about the ’089 Accused Products 15 that it obtains during discovery. 16 1(a) A method of representing new electronic messages on a communication 17 device having a display, the method comprising: – Defendant makes and uses the 18 Twitter application. Regardless of whether the preamble of claim 1 adds any 19 substantive limitation to the claim, the claim language is met by the ’089 Accused 20 Products, as the ’089 Accused Products perform a method of representing new 21 electronic messages on a communication device having a display as further 22 described below for the remaining claim limitations. 23 1(b) receiving a new electronic message; 1(c) setting a new message flag to 24 indicate receipt of the new electronic message; – On information and belief, the 25 Twitter application receives new direct messages and sets a new message flag to 26 indicate receipt of said new direct messages. 27 28 -79Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 80 of 98 Page ID #:80 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 See also https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct-messages. 1(d) representing, on a home screen displayed on the display, a new message indicator when the new message flag is set; – 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1(e) receiving an invocation to switch the home screen displayed on the 28 display to a message inventory display screen for viewing a listing including a -80Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 81 of 98 Page ID #:81 1 plurality of electronic messages including the new electronic message, the message 2 inventory display screen displaying a preview, for each listed electronic message, of 3 either a subject line or of a portion of contents of the electronic message, the 4 contents of an electronic message being accessible upon receipt of a request to open 5 an electronic message from the list of messages; – 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1(f) unsetting the new message flag in response to the invocation to switch the 19 home screen displayed on the display to the message inventory display screen, the 20 unsetting of the flag occurring without having received a request to open the new 21 electronic message; and – On information and belief, the Twitter application unsets 22 the new message flag in response to switching from the home screen to the message 23 inventory display screen, even before there is a request to open a new direct 24 message. 25 26 27 28 -81Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 82 of 98 Page ID #:82 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1(g) receiving an invocation to switch the message inventory display screen to 14 the home screen, wherein the new message indicator represented on the home 15 screen is not displayed as a result of the unsetting of the new message flag. – On 16 information and belief, the Twitter application will not display the new message 17 indicator, as a result of the unsetting of the new message flag, upon returning to the 18 home screen. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -82Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 83 of 98 Page ID #:83 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 157. Additionally, Defendant will be an active inducer of infringement of 14 the ’089 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) and a contributory infringer of the ’089 15 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(c) should Defendant continue its infringing acts after 16 the filing of this Complaint. 17 158. Defendant knew of the ’089 Patent, or should have known of the ’089 18 Patent but was willfully blind to its existence. Upon information and belief, 19 Defendant has had actual knowledge of the ’089 Patent since at least as early as the 20 filing and/or service of this Complaint. 21 159. Defendant has provided the ’089 Accused Products to its customers 22 and, on information and belief, instructions to use the ’089 Accused Products in an 23 infringing manner at least as early as the filing of this Complaint, while being on 24 notice of or willfully blind to the ’089 Patent and Defendant’s infringement, and 25 knowingly and intentionally encourages and aids its customers to directly infringe 26 the ’089 Patent. 27 160. Upon information and belief, Defendant provides the ’089 Accused 28 Products to customers through various third-party application stores (e.g., the Apple -83Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 84 of 98 Page ID #:84 1 App Store) and instructions to end-user customers so that such customers will use 2 the ’089 Accused Products in an infringing manner. For example, Defendant 3 provides instructions to end-user customers on how to set up, configure, and use 4 various features of the ’089 Accused Products, including Direct Messages.8 161. Defendant’s end-user customers directly infringe at least claim 1 of the 5 6 ’089 Patent by using the ’089 Accused Products in its intended manner to infringe. 7 Defendant induces such infringement by providing the ’089 Accused Products and 8 instructions to enable and facilitate infringement, knowing of, or being willfully 9 blind to the existence of, the ’089 Patent. Upon information and belief, Defendant 10 specifically intends that its actions will result in infringement of at least claim 1 of 11 the ’089 Patent, or subjectively believes that its actions will result in infringement of 12 the ’089 Patent but took deliberate actions to avoid learning of those facts, as set 13 forth above. 162. Additionally, Defendant contributorily infringes at least claim 1 of the 14 15 ’089 Patent by providing the ’089 Accused Products and/or software components 16 thereof, that embody a material part of the claimed inventions of the ’089 Patent, 17 that are known by Defendant to be specially made or adapted for use in an 18 infringing manner, and are not staple articles with substantial non-infringing uses. 19 The ’089 Accused Products are specially designed to infringe at least claim 1 of the 20 ’089 Patent, and its accused components have no substantial non-infringing uses. In 21 particular, on information and belief, the software modules and code that implement 22 and perform the infringing functionalities identified above are specially made and 23 adapted to carry out said functionality and do not have any substantial non24 infringing uses. 163. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’089 25 26 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 27 28 8 See, e.g., https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct-messages. -84Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 85 of 98 Page ID #:85 1 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 2 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 3 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 4 164. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 5 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’089 Patent, 6 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 7 8 COUNT VI: INFRINGEMENT OF U.S. PATENT NO. 8,572,182 165. BlackBerry incorporates by reference and re-alleges all of the foregoing 9 paragraphs of this Complaint as if fully set forth herein. 10 11 The ’182 Patent 166. The ’182 Patent discloses, among other things, that “[r]educing the 12 communications in an IM conversation between two devices may be accomplished 13 by confirming two or more IM events of the conversation at the first device by 14 sending to the second device a single IM communication that confirms the most 15 recent of the events,” and that “[i]n some cases, an earlier event can be inferred from 16 the single IM communication.” ’182 Patent at 2:12-28. 17 167. The ’182 Patent explains that in various embodiments, “[t]he second 18 device, upon receipt from the first device of a Message_Delivered notification for a 19 particular IM, may infer that all previous instant messages in the conversation that 20 were sent by the second device to the first device have also been received by the 21 first device.” Id. at 2:55-59. In other words, once the first device indicates it has 22 received the last-sent message, the second device can infer that it must have also 23 received one or more messages sent prior to the last-sent message. Id. at 2:59-65. 24 168. In a similar manner, the ’182 Patent describes that “the second device, 25 upon receipt from the first device of a Message_Read notification for a particular 26 IM, may infer that all previous instant messages in the conversation that were sent 27 by the second device to the first device have also been received by the first device 28 and read by the user of the first device.” Id. at 2:65-3:3. In other words, once the -85Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 86 of 98 Page ID #:86 1 first device indicates it has received the last-sent message and it has been read by the 2 user of the first device, the second device can infer that the user of the first device 3 must also have read one or more messages sent prior to the last-sent message. Id. at 4 2:65-3:10. 5 169. Figure 1 of the ’182 Patent illustrates multiple devices 102, 104, and 6 106, each with respective IM clients 140 that may include an event handler 141. Id. 7 at 4:25-28. The ’182 Patent explains that “[w]hen the user of device 102 sends an 8 instant message to the user of device 104, the instant message is handled by IM 9 client 140 on device 102, communicated to network 120, communicated to a relay 10 computer or computers 150, and passed back to network 120 for communication to 11 device 104. When the user of device 106 sends an instant message to the user of 12 device 104, the instant message is handled by IM client 140 on device 106, 13 communicated to network 130, communicated to relay computer(s) 150, and passed 14 to network 120 for communication to device 104.” Id. at 4:28-38. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Id. at Fig. 1. 28 -86Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 87 of 98 Page ID #:87 1 170. Figure 8 depicts an exemplary method implemented by IM client 140 2 on a communication device sending one or more IM messages according to various 3 embodiments. ’182 Patent at 6:57-60. At step 800, IM client 140 determines that an 4 event has occurred at device 104. Id. at 6:61-62. The ’182 Patent explains that 5 “[t]he recognized event may be sending a message, receiving a Message_Delivered 6 notification, receiving a Message_Read notification, receiving a Typing_Started 7 notification, receiving a Typing_Stopped notification, or receiving an instant 8 message, as shown at 802, 804, 806, 808, 810 and 812, respectively.” Id. at 6:62-67. 9 When a Message_Read notification is recognized (step 806), the IM client 140 10 extracts the ID number of a message embedded in the Message_Read notification 11 (step 820). Id. at 7:16-20. The ’182 Patent describes that in step 822, IM client 140 12 compares the extracted ID number to the collection of tracked messages, and marks 13 the message that has this ID number as read and delivered. IM client 140 marks also 14 messages of that conversation that were sent prior to the newly marked message as 15 read and delivered.” Id. at 7:20-25. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Id. at Fig. 8. -87Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 88 of 98 Page ID #:88 1 171. The ’182 Patent thus describes, among other things, “[a] method in a 2 first communication device for reducing communications in an instant messaging 3 conversation between said first device and a second communication device, the 4 method comprising: sending to said second device, a plurality of instant messages of 5 said conversation; receiving from said second device, after sending said plurality of 6 instant messages, at least a notification of the status of only a particular one of said 7 plurality of instant messages sent by said first device to said second device without 8 having previously received a notification of the status of any of said plurality of 9 instant messages sent prior to said particular one of said plurality of instant 10 messages; and in response to receipt of said notification, a processor updating an 11 internal record to reflect said status for said particular one of said plurality of instant 12 messages and to reflect an inferred status for all of said plurality of instant messages 13 of said conversation sent prior to said particular one of said plurality of instant 14 messages.” Id. at claim 1. 15 The Inventions Claimed in the ’182 Patent Were Not 16 Well-Understood, Routine, or Conventional 17 172. A method or system for sending a plurality of instant messages, 18 subsequently receiving at least a notification of the status of only a particular one of 19 said plurality of instant messages, and in response to receiving the notification, 20 updating an internal record to reflect an inferred status for all of said plurality of 21 instant messages sent prior to said particular one instant message, was not common 22 or conventional at the time of the ’182 Patent. 23 173. The inventor of the ’182 Patent recognized issues with IM messaging 24 communications and the need for more efficient communication of read receipts 25 between IM clients. For example, the inventor noted that “[s]ome IM systems use 26 notifications to provide users with ‘clues’ about the status of a conversation. For 27 example, a Message_Delivered notification may be used to notify a sender of a 28 message that the message was received by the target communication device. In -88Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 89 of 98 Page ID #:89 1 another example, a Message_Read notification may be used to notify a sender of a 2 message that the message was read by a user of the target communication device. In 3 yet another example, Typing_Started and Typing_Stopped messages may be used to 4 notify a sender of a message when a user of the target communication device is 5 typing a response to the message.” Id. at 1:22-32. As recognized by the inventor of 6 the ’182 patent, these “[n]otifications sent in an IM system occupy bandwidth that 7 would otherwise be available for other communications.” Id. at 33-34. 8 174. Given the state of the art at the time of the invention of the ’182 Patent, 9 the inventive concepts of the ’182 Patent were not conventional, well-understood, or 10 routine. The ’182 Patent discloses, among other things, an unconventional 11 technological solution to an issue arising specifically in the context of electronic 12 communications systems and electronic messaging received within those 13 communications systems. The solution implemented by the ’182 Patent provides a 14 specific and substantial improvement over prior messaging notification systems 15 resulting in more efficient use of system bandwidth, including by introducing novel 16 elements directed to improving the function and working of communications 17 systems such as, among other things, the claimed “receiving . . . at least a 18 notification of the status of only a particular one of said plurality of instant messages 19 sent . . .” and “a processor updating an internal record to reflect said status for said 20 particular one of said plurality of instant messages and to reflect an inferred status 21 for all of said plurality of instant messages of said conversation sent prior to said 22 particular one of said plurality of instant messages” (claim 1; substantially similar 23 limitations in claims 4 and 5). 24 175. Consistent with the problem addressed being rooted in electronic 25 messaging between wireless communications devices, the ’182 Patent’s solutions 26 naturally are also rooted in the same technology that cannot be performed with pen 27 and paper or in the human mind. 28 -89Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 90 of 98 Page ID #:90 1 176. This technical context is reflected in the ’182 Patent’s claims. For 2 example, various claims of the ’182 Patent require transmissions between 3 communication devices, sending and receiving instant messages, electronic 4 notifications, and a processor updating an internal record. 5 177. A person having ordinary skill in the art at the time of the inventions of 6 the ’182 Patent would not have understood that the inventions could or would be 7 performed solely in the human mind or using pen and paper. Using pen and paper 8 would ignore the stated purpose of the ’182 Patent and the problem it was 9 specifically designed to address. Doing so would also run counter to the inventors’ 10 detailed description of the inventions and the language of the claims and be a 11 practical impossibility. 12 13 ’182 Patent Allegations 178. Defendant has infringed and is infringing, either literally or under the 14 doctrine of equivalents, the ’182 Patent in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq., 15 directly and/or indirectly, by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or 16 importing into the United States without authority or license, the Twitter application 17 (hereinafter “the ’182 Accused Products”) that infringe at least claims 1 and 4 of the 18 ’182 Patent. 19 179. On information and belief after reasonable investigation, the ’182 20 Accused Products contain messaging functionality designed and used to send and 21 receive efficient read receipts based on updating an internal record to reflect an 22 inferred status of instant messages in a manner that infringes the ’182 Patent. 23 180. As just one non-limiting example, set forth below (with claim language 24 in italics) is a description of infringement of exemplary claim 1 of the ’182 Patent in 25 connection with the Twitter application. 26 available information. This description is based on publicly BlackBerry reserves the right to modify this description, 27 including, for example, on the basis of information about the ’182 Accused Products 28 that it obtains during discovery. -90Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 91 of 98 Page ID #:91 1 1(a) A method in a first communication device for reducing communications 2 in an instant messaging conversation between said first device and a second 3 communication device, the method comprising: – Defendant makes and uses the 4 Twitter application which is executed on a communications device such as a mobile 5 phone or computer, for example. Regardless of whether the preamble of claim 1 6 adds any substantive limitation to the claim, the claim language is met by the ’182 7 Accused Products, as the ’182 Accused Products include a method for reducing 8 communications in an instant messaging conversation between a first 9 communication device and a second communication device as further described 10 below for the remaining claim limitations, as described below. 11 1(b) sending to said second device, a plurality of instant messages of said 12 conversation; – For example, users of the Twitter application send to one another a 13 plurality of instant messages as part of an instant messaging conversation, such as a 14 conversation between a first device and a second device: 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 1(c) receiving from said second device, after sending said plurality of instant 22 messages, at least a notification of the status of only a particular one of said 23 plurality of instant messages sent by said first device to said second device without 24 having previously received a notification of the status of any of said plurality of 25 instant messages sent prior to said particular one of said plurality of instant 26 messages; and – For example, on information and belief, after a first device sends a 27 plurality of instant messages, it receives a notification of the status of only a 28 particular one of said plurality of instant messages without having previously -91Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 92 of 98 Page ID #:92 1 received a notification of the status of any messages sent prior to the particular 2 message for which a notification was received: 3 4 5 6 7 8 (indicating via the blue checkmark that the message has been seen by the recipient) 9 1(d) in response to receipt of said notification, a processor updating an 10 internal record to reflect said status for said particular one of said plurality of 11 instant messages and to reflect an inferred status for all of said plurality of instant 12 messages of said conversation sent prior to said particular one of said plurality of 13 instant messages. – For example, on information and belief, in response to receipt of 14 the notification, a processor in the first device updates an internal record to reflect 15 the status of the particular message and to reflect an inferred status for prior ones of 16 the plurality of messages: 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 (indicating via the blue checkmark that the message has been seen by the recipient); 24 See also https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/direct-messages/typing-indicator-and- 25 read-receipts/api-reference/new-read-receipt (defining the “required” parameter 26 last_read_event_id, which is “[t]he message ID of the most recent message to be 27 marked read. All messages before it will be marked read as well.”). 28 -92Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 93 of 98 Page ID #:93 1 181. Additionally, Defendant has been, and currently is, an active inducer of 2 infringement of the ’182 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b) and contributory 3 infringers of the ’182 Patent under 35 U.S.C. § 271(c). 4 182. BlackBerry made Defendant aware of the ’182 Patent and its 5 infringement thereof by letter dated June 7, 2017. Ex. H. Accordingly, Defendant 6 has had actual knowledge of (or was willfully blind to the existence of) the ’182 7 Patent and its infringement thereof at least as of June 7, 2017, but has failed to take 8 any action to avoid infringement. Indeed, on information and belief, Defendant has 9 released over two dozen new versions of the iOS Twitter application since being put 10 on notice of its infringement—none of which removed the infringing functionality. 11 (See, e.g., https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/twitter/id333903271?mt=8 (link to version 12 history contained therein). Accordingly, Defendant knew that it infringed the ’182 13 Patent well before BlackBerry filed this action and, despite its knowledge, acted 14 egregiously and willfully by continuing to infringe the ’182 Patent. 15 183. Defendant has provided the ’182 Accused Products to its customers 16 and, on information and belief, instructions to use the ’182 Accused Products in an 17 infringing manner while being on notice of or willfully blind to the ’182 Patent and 18 Defendant’s infringement, and knowingly and intentionally encourages and aids its 19 customers to directly infringe the ’182 Patent. 20 184. Upon information and belief, Defendant provides the ’182 Accused 21 Products to customers through various third-party application stores (e.g., the Apple 22 App Store) and instructions to end-user customers so that such customers will use 23 the ’182 Accused Products in an infringing manner. For example, Defendant 24 provides instructions to end-user customers on how to set up, configure, and use 25 various features of the ’182 Accused Products, as well as how to send messages and 26 27 28 -93Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 94 of 98 Page ID #:94 1 disable/enable read receipts associated with Twitter Direct Messaging 2 conversations.9 185. Defendant’s end-user customers directly infringe at least claims 1 and 4 3 4 of the ’182 Patent by using the ’182 Accused Products in their intended manner to 5 infringe. Defendant induces such infringement by providing the ’182 Accused 6 Products and instructions to enable and facilitate infringement, knowing of, or being 7 willfully blind to the existence of, the ’182 Patent. Upon information and belief, 8 Defendant specifically intends that its actions will result in infringement of at least 9 claims 1 and 4 of the ’182 Patent, or subjectively believe that its actions will result 10 in infringement of the ’182 Patent but took deliberate actions to avoid learning of 11 those facts, as set forth above. 186. Additionally, Defendant contributorily infringes at least claims 1 and 4 12 13 of the ’182 Patent by providing the ’182 Accused Products and/or software 14 components thereof, that embody a material part of the claimed inventions of the 15 ’182 Patent, that are known by Defendant to be specially made or adapted for use in 16 an infringing manner, and are not staple articles with substantial non-infringing 17 uses. The ’182 Accused Products are specially designed to infringe at least claims 1 18 and 4 of the ’182 Patent, and their accused components have no substantial non19 infringing uses. In particular, on information and belief, the software modules and 20 code that implement and perform the infringing functionalities identified above are 21 specially made and adapted to carry out said functionality and do not have any 22 substantial non-infringing uses. 187. Defendant’s infringement of the ’182 Patent was and continues to be 23 24 willful and deliberate, entitling BlackBerry to enhanced damages and attorneys’ 25 fees. 26 27 28 9 See, e.g., https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/direct-messages. -94Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 95 of 98 Page ID #:95 1 188. Additional discovery regarding Defendant’s knowledge of the ’182 2 Patent likely will uncover additional facts related to Defendant’s willful 3 infringement. 4 189. Defendant’s infringement of the ’182 Patent is exceptional and entitles 5 BlackBerry to attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in prosecuting this action under 35 6 U.S.C. § 285. 7 190. BlackBerry has been damaged by Defendant’s infringement of the ’182 8 Patent and will continue to be damaged unless Defendant is enjoined by this Court. 9 BlackBerry has suffered and continues to suffer irreparable injury for which there is 10 no adequate remedy at law. The balance of hardships favors BlackBerry, and public 11 interest is not disserved by an injunction. 12 191. BlackBerry is entitled to recover from Defendant all damages that 13 BlackBerry has sustained as a result of Defendant’s infringement of the ’182 Patent, 14 including without limitation lost profits and not less than a reasonable royalty. 15 PRAYER FOR RELIEF 16 WHEREFORE, BlackBerry respectfully requests: 17 A. That Judgment be entered that Defendant has infringed one or more 18 claims of the Patents-in-Suit, directly and indirectly, literally and/or under the 19 doctrine of equivalents; 20 B. That, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 283, Defendant and all its 21 affiliates, employees, agents, officers, directors, attorneys, successors, and assigns 22 and all those acting on behalf of or in active concert or participation with it, be 23 enjoined from (1) infringing the Patents-in-Suit and (2) making, using, selling, and 24 offering for sale the Twitter application and Twitter Ads service and websites, 25 and/or backend servers enabling the accused functionality of such applications, 26 websites, and services; 27 C. An order directing Defendant to file with the Court and serve upon 28 BlackBerry’s counsel within thirty (30) days after entry of the order of injunction, a -95Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 96 of 98 Page ID #:96 1 report setting forth the manner and form in which Defendant has complied with the 2 injunction, including the provision relating to destruction and recall of infringing 3 products and materials; 4 D. An award of damages sufficient to compensate BlackBerry for 5 Defendant’s infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 284, including an enhancement of 6 damages on account of Defendant’s willful infringement; 7 E. That the case be found exceptional under 35 U.S.C. § 285 and that 8 BlackBerry be awarded its reasonable attorneys’ fees; 9 F. Costs and expenses in this action; 10 G. An award of prejudgment and post-judgment interest; and 11 H. Such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and proper. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -96Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 97 of 98 Page ID #:97 1 2 DATED: February 27, 2019 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP By: /s/ James R. Asperger James R. Asperger (Bar No. 83188) jamesasperger@quinnemanuel.com Yury Kapgan (Bar No. 218366) yurykapgan@quinnemanuel.com 865 S. Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 Telephone: (213) 443-3000 Facsimile: (213) 443-3100 Victoria F. Maroulis (Bar No. 202603) victoriamaroulis@quinnemanuel.com 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, 5th Floor Redwood Shores, CA 94065 Telephone: (650) 801-5000 Facsimile: (650) 801-5100 Jordan R. Jaffe (Bar No. 254886) jordanjaffe@quinnemanuel.com 50 California Street, 22nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 875-6600 Facsimile: (415) 875-6700 BLACKBERRY CORPORATION Edward R. McGah, Jr (Bar No. 97719) Vice President, Deputy General Counsel – Litigation 41 Ticknor Place Laguna Niguel, California 92677 Telephone: (650) 581-4750 Attorneys for Plaintiff, BlackBerry Limited 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -97Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT Case 2:19-cv-01444 Document 1 Filed 02/27/19 Page 98 of 98 Page ID #:98 1 2 DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL Pursuant to Rule 38(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, BlackBerry 3 respectfully demands a trial by jury on all issues triable by jury. 4 5 DATED: February 27, 2019 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART & SULLIVAN, LLP By: /s/ James R. Asperger James R. Asperger (Bar No. 83188) jamesasperger@quinnemanuel.com Yury Kapgan (Bar No. 218366) yurykapgan@quinnemanuel.com 865 S. Figueroa Street, 10th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 Telephone: (213) 443-3000 Facsimile: (213) 443-3100 Victoria F. Maroulis (Bar No. 202603) victoriamaroulis@quinnemanuel.com 555 Twin Dolphin Drive, 5th Floor Redwood Shores, CA 94065 Telephone: (650) 801-5000 Facsimile: (650) 801-5100 Jordan R. Jaffe (Bar No. 254886) jordanjaffe@quinnemanuel.com 50 California Street, 22nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: (415) 875-6600 Facsimile: (415) 875-6700 BLACKBERRY CORPORATION Edward R. McGah, Jr (Bar No. 97719) Vice President, Deputy General Counsel – Litigation 41 Ticknor Place Laguna Niguel, California 92677 Telephone: (650) 581-4750 Attorneys for Plaintiff, BlackBerry Limited 24 25 26 27 28 -98Case No. 2:19-cv-1444 COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT