The International Trade Commission opened a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations that AMOLED panels from BOE, LG Display and Samsung Display and devices from LG, Samsung and Sony infringe three display technology patents of IP owner Solas OLED dating to 2009, says Tuesday’s Federal Register. “An explosion of imported, unlicensed products that infringe” the Solas patents “significantly eroded” the market standing of OLED microdisplay supplier eMagin, Solas’ only U.S. licensee, said the Dec. 28 complaint (login required) in ITC docket 337-TA-1243. Solas “partnered with eMagin to undertake the task of counteracting these unfair and unlawful acts,” it said, though eMagin isn't listed as a complainant. Solas, an Irish company, seeks exclusion and cease-and-desist orders against the allegedly infringing panels and devices. None of the respondents commented, nor did eMagin.

SharkNinja robotic floor cleaners and components infringe five iRobot patents dating to 2009, alleged iRobot in a Tariff Act Section 337 complaint (login required) Thursday at the International Trade Commission that seeks exclusion and cease-and-desist orders against the accused devices. IRobot’s “decades of dedication to innovation has earned it widespread applause and accolades, and established iRobot” in the robotic vacuum category, said the complaint. SharkNinja “entered the market segment only recently,” and “quickly became the second-largest domestic player” by stealing iRobot’s patented technology and embedding it in its “lower-quality imitations,” it said. The competitor “specifically marketed its products as cheaper alternatives to iRobot’s,” it said. SharkNinja didn’t comment Friday.

The International Trade Commission by a 5-0 vote (login required) agreed to open a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations that IP cameras and video doorbells from Arlo Technologies, SimpliSafe and Vivint Smart Home infringe seven communications and monitoring system patents from SkyBell Technologies, SB IP Holdings and EyeTalk365 (see 2012250001). The complainants seek an import ban on the allegedly infringing devices. The ITC assigned (login required) Administrative Law Judge Dee Lord to the case.

The production company behind 2010's I Spit on Your Grave remake is suing a variety of John Doe users of alleged piracy website 1137x for direct and contributory copyright infringement for sharing the film via BitTorrent. In the suit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Denver (docket 21-cv-00239, in Pacer), Family of the Year Productions said it plans to subpoena Google and unnamed ISPs to learn the John Doe subscriber identities and IP address log information.

Copyright royalty judges amended regulations to “revise the allocation of the initial administrative assessment” for funding the Music Modernization Act’s mechanical licensing collective (see 2012310019), effective Friday, the Copyright Royalty Board announced.

Samsung seeks declaratory judgment that its TVs, monitors and displays don’t infringe a Polaris PowerLED Technologies July 2007 patent (7,239,087) on LED driver arrays, said a Friday complaint (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware. Polaris previously sued Samsung for infringing the patent, and the two sides signed a “litigation standstill agreement” that expired Thursday, it said. Samsung worries Polaris will now again file suit “and may mistakenly lead some observers to believe Polaris’s claims to be true,” it said. Samsung denies the allegations, it said: “Polaris is a patent-holding company whose primary, if not sole, business purpose is the acquisition, sale, licensing, and assertion of patents. Polaris’s actions have therefore created a substantial and concrete controversy between Polaris and Samsung that warrants declaratory judicial resolution.” Polaris didn’t comment.

TiVo and TCL expanded and extended a licensing agreement for TiVo’s media patents, they said Thursday. The multiyear deal applies to TCL's TVs and AV devices. It lets TCL continue to deliver a good viewing experience "even as the television industry undergoes rapid transformation and change," said Samir Armaly, president-IP licensing at TiVo parent Xperi.

The import ban Ericsson seeks at the International Trade Commission against Samsung smart devices for allegedly infringing four wireless connectivity patents (see 2101080043) would “harm health and welfare, competitive conditions, and ultimately consumers in the United States,” Samsung commented (login required), as posted Tuesday in docket 337-3520. Though Ericsson “glibly assures” the ITC that its licensees “would be able to supply smartphones, tablets and smart TVs to backfill the vacuum its requested remedial orders would create, its failure to identify its alleged licensees, other than Apple (which does not produce devices for the Android ecosystem), makes it difficult to assess such a claim,” said Samsung. Ericsson “has failed to provide any factual support for its assertions,” it said. “Samsung cannot assess the manufacturing capacity of Ericsson’s unidentified alleged licensees, nor can Samsung determine whether these licensees offer competing products across the broad range of consumer electronic devices implicated by this investigation.” Samsung is the U.S. market leader in Android smartphones, tablets and smart TVs, it said. Apple devices “are not suitable replacements,” it said. Suppliers of Android and other operating systems “that currently enjoy minimal U.S. market share cannot replace the market leader in a commercially reasonable time,” it said. Ericsson didn’t comment Wednesday.

Samsung’s eNB LTE network equipment and 5G “access unit” infringe six Ericsson wireless communications patents dating to 2012, alleged a complaint (in Pacer) Friday in U.S. District Court in Marshall, Texas. It's Ericsson’s third patent infringement action against Samsung this month. Comments were due Tuesday at the International Trade Commission on public interest ramifications of the Tariff Act Section 337 import ban Ericsson seeks in a Jan. 4 complaint against Samsung smartphones, tablets and smart TVs for allegedly infringing four of its wireless connectivity patents (see 2101080043). Ericsson made similar accusations against Samsung Jan. 1 in the same Marshall court as Friday’s action (see 2101030001). Through its manufacture and sales of the eNB network equipment and 5G millimeter-wave access unit, “Samsung performed the acts that constitute induced infringement with knowledge or willful blindness that the induced acts would constitute infringement,” said the latest complaint. It seeks punitive and compensatory damages, plus a court declaration that Samsung’s infringement is willing. Samsung didn’t comment Tuesday.

The International Trade Commission in a 5-0 vote (login required) agreed to postpone by six days, to Jan. 25, a decision about whether to launch a Tariff Act Section 337 investigation into allegations from SkyBell Technologies, SB IP Holdings and EyeTalk365 that video doorbells and IP cameras from Arlo Technologies, SimpliSafe and Vivint Smart Home infringe seven communications and monitoring system patents (see 2012250001). Arlo, SimpliSafe and Vivint argued the patents are invalid due to filing irregularities at the Patent and Trademark Office, and the complaint should be thrown out or given early disposition. The ITC said it needed more time to evaluate the complainants’ response.