Case 6:20-cv-00090-ADA Document 1 Filed 02/05/20 Page 1 of 173
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`WACO DIVISION
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`HUA WEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.,
`HUA WEI DEVICE CO., LTD., and
`HUA WEI DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
`(CHENGDU) CO., LTD.
`
`Plaintiffs,
`
`VS.
`
`VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, INC.,
`CELLCO PARTNERSHIP D/B/ A VERIZON
`WIRELESS, and VERIZON BUSINESS
`NETWORK SERVICES, INC.
`
`Defendants.
`
`Civil Action No. 6:20-cv-00090
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`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
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`COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT
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`Plaintiffs Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Huawei Device Co., Ltd., and Huawei Digital
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`Technologies (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (collectively, "Huawei" or "Plaintiffs") hereby allege as
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`follows against Verizon Communications, Inc., Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, and
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`Verizon Business Network Services, Inc. (collectively "Verizon" or "Defendants"):
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`THE PARTIES
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`1.
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`Plaintiff Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei Technologies") is a Chinese
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`corporation with its principal place of business at Bantian, Longgang District, Shenzhen,
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`People's Republic of China.
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`2.
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`Plaintiff Huawei Device Co., Ltd. ("Huawei Device") is a Chinese corporation
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`with its principal place of business at Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industi·ial Zone,
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`Dongguan, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
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`3.
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`Plaintiff Huawei Digital Technologies (Chengdu) Co., Ltd. (“Huawei Digital”) is
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`a Chinese corporation with its principal place of business at No.1899 Xiyuan Avenue, High-tech
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`Zone, Chengdu, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China.
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`4.
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`Defendant Verizon Communications Inc. (“Verizon Communications”) is a
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`Delaware corporation with a principal place of business at 1095 Avenue of the Americas, New
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`York, New York 10036. Verizon Communications may be served through its registered agent,
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`The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington,
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`DE 19801.
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`5.
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`Defendant Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Cellco Partnership”) is a
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`Delaware partnership with its principal place of business at 1 Verizon Way, Basking Ridge, New
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`Jersey 07920. Cellco Partnership is wholly owned by its corporate parent, Verizon
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`Communications, and together with Verizon Communications is collectively referred to as
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`“Verizon Wireless.” Cellco Partnership may be served through its registered agent, The
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`Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, DE
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`19801.
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`6.
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`Defendant Verizon Business Network Services, Inc. (“Verizon Business”) is a
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`Delaware corporation with a place of business in at least San Antonio, Texas. Verizon Business
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`may be served through its registered agent for service of process in Texas at CT Corporation
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`System, 1999 Bryan St., Suite 900, Dallas, Texas 75201.
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`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
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`7.
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`This action arises under the patent laws of the United States, 35 U.S.C. § 1, et seq.
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`This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331
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`and 1338.
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`8.
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`The patents-at-issue in this action are U.S. Patent Nos. 7,965,709 (“the ’709
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`Patent”), 8,154,986 (“the ’986 Patent”), 10,027,693 (“the ’693 Patent”), 7,609,288 (“the ’288
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`Patent”), 9,521,366 (“the ’366 Patent”), 7,715,832 (“the ’832 Patent”), and 8,761,839 (“the ’839
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`Patent”) (collectively, the “Asserted Patents”).
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`9.
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`The Court has personal jurisdiction over Verizon at least because it has
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`continuous business contacts in the State of Texas and in this District. Verizon has engaged in
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`business activities including transacting business in this District and purposefully directing its
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`business activities, including the provision of infringing communications networks and services,
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`and the use, marketing, sale or offer for sale of mobile devices and services, such as Verizon’s
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`Smart Family Service and One Talk Service and Cisco’s Webex service in this District, and the
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`sale or offer for sale of services and goods to this District to aid, abet, or contribute to the
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`infringement of third parties in this District. For example, Verizon—either directly or through
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`those acting on its behalf—offers infringing communications networks and services in this
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`District, as shown, e.g., at https://www.verizonwireless.com/featured/better-matters/:
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`As another example, Verizon—either directly or through those acting on its behalf—has stores
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`and/or authorized retailers in this District in which infringing communications networks and
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`services are offered for sale. See https://www.verizonwireless.com/stores/texas/. For example,
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`Verizon through each of the named parties has various places of business within this District,
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`including data centers at 222 Rotary, San Antonio, TX, 78202 and 2525 Ridgepoint Drive,
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`Austin TX, 78754, and numerous retail stores including the following examples in Waco:
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`https://www.verizonwireless.com/stores/storesearchresults/?lat=31.549333&long=-
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`97.14666950000003&q=waco%2Ctx#/Search. Verizon also has a call center in El Paso. See
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`https://www.verizon.com/about/careers/we-are-global#featured-region-6753. Verizon also
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`offers enterprise products and services to Texas “[s]tate agencies, cities, counties, public school
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`districts, and universities” through the Texas Department of Information Resources in Austin.
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`See, e.g., https://enterprise.verizon.com/solutions/public-sector/state-local/contracts/texas/;
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`https://dir.texas.gov/; see also https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/verizon-invested-
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`more-than-348-million-in-texas-wireline-telecommunications-infrastructure-in-2013-2014-03-31
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`(“Verizon Enterprise Solutions oversees all of Verizon’s solutions for large-business and
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`government customers in Texas and globally . . .”).
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`10.
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`Venue is proper in this judicial district under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391 and 1400(b). As
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`shown above, Verizon has multiple regular and established place of business in this District and
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`is engaged in activities including: transacting business in this district and purposefully directing
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`its business activities, including the installation, maintenance, and use of infringing
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`communications networks, services, and other technologies in this District, and the sale or offer
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`for sale of services and goods to this District to aid, abet, or contribute to the infringement of
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`third parties in this District.
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`HUAWEI’S INNOVATION AND RESEARCH
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`11.
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`Founded in 1987, Huawei is a global leader of information and communication
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`technology (“ICT”) solutions. Continuously innovating to meet customer needs, Huawei is
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`committed to enhancing customer experience and creating maximum value for
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`telecommunications carriers, enterprises, and consumers. Huawei’s telecom network equipment,
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`IT products and solutions, and smart devices, such as telepresence products, transport and core
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`network equipment, fixed and radio access products, and fiber infrastructure products are
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`deployed and used in 170 countries and regions and serve over one-third of the world’s
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`population. Huawei is also a leader in research, innovation, and implementation of future
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`networks.
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`12.
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`Indeed, R&D has been at the core of Huawei’s business. Huawei started its
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`business reselling third-party telecommunication products, but shortly thereafter Huawei chose
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`to shift its focus by expanding its own R&D and developing its own products. Since then,
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`Huawei has heavily invested in R&D and routinely spends no less than 10% of its annual
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`revenue on innovation. For example, Huawei ranks fifth globally in The 2019 European Union
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`Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, a report published by the European Commission.
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`13.
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`Over the past decade through 2018, Huawei has invested nearly $73 billion in
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`research and development in total. In the next five years, Huawei plans to invest $100 billion.
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`Huawei’s R&D efforts are now focused on addressing customer needs, as well as long-term
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`technology research and standardization. In pursuit of these goals, Huawei has assembled a
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`global team with thousands of scientists and top engineers in the United States, Europe, and
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`Japan, to staff its R&D department. Globally, Huawei has 14 R&D Institutes and Centers, 36
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`joint innovation centers and 45 training centers. Indeed, about 45% of Huawei’s global
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`workforce – over 80,000 employees in 2018 – works in the Research and Development
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`Department. Huawei’s innovations are central to important cutting-edge technologies, including
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`ultra-broadband solutions, such as 100G super-fast data transmission, LTE, and WiMAX
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`wireless networks.
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`14.
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`As a result of Huawei’s substantial dedication to R&D in the telecommunications
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`industry over the past three decades, Huawei has contributed to the evolution of
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`telecommunication networks from the Wired Communication Age, into the Wireless Age, and
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`from 2G, 3G, and 4G to advanced 5G networks.
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`15.
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`Over the course of this evolution, Huawei has been responsible for several of the
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`industry’s notable achievements and milestones. In the Wired Communication Age, due to its
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`heavy investment in R&D in its early years, Huawei successfully launched a new line of fixed
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`network switch products in 1993, the centerpiece of which was the C&C 08 switching product,
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`which proved to be a tremendous success in rural areas of China, with a rapid coverage of over
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`300 regional networks.
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`16.
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`Entering the Wireless Age, Huawei launched the first-ever Global System for
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`Mobile Communications (“GSM”) infrastructure products engineered solely by a Chinese
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`company in 1997. Three years later, Huawei’s revenue had reached $1.9 billion, including $100
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`million from overseas sales. Along with great market success, Huawei has been significantly
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`ahead of its competitors in bringing major innovations in cellular technology to market. Shortly
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`after its success with distributed base stations, recognized as customer-centric innovations,
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`Huawei was the first infrastructure supplier to launch the unique SingleRAN technology in 2008,
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`which is now the industry norm. The SingleRAN solution supports GSM, universal mobile
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`telecommunications system (“UMTS”), code division multiple access (“CDMA”), WiMAX, and
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`Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”), i.e., all relevant 2G, 3G, and 4G standards, and all in a common
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`platform. In 2009, Huawei deployed the world’s first commercial 4G LTE network in Oslo,
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`Norway, sharing the first commercial 4G LTE network with Ericsson in TeliaSonera. In 2010,
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`Huawei achieved the world’s fastest LTE-A downlink speed, up to 1.2 Gbps at CTIA Wireless
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`2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and successfully demonstrated simultaneous voice calling and high
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`definition video streaming over LTE and LTE-A networks for Cox Communications, the third-
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`largest cable provider in the United States.
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`17.
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`The above accomplishments and others earned Huawei the awards for “Best
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`Contribution to R&D for LTE” and “Best Contribution to LTE Standards” at the LTE North
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`America Awards in 2011. Huawei also won the “Most innovative service launch enabled by
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`IMS” with its “Convergent Conference” solution at the 2012 IP Multimedia Subsystem (“IMS”)
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`World Forum, the “Best Integrated IMS Solution” award at the 2013 IMS World Forum, and the
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`“Best VoLTE Product” for its end-to-end (“E2E”) voice and video over LTE (“V2oLTE”)
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`solution and “Most Innovative Virtualized IMS Solution” for its Cloud IMS solution at the 2014
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`IMS World Forum in Barcelona, Spain.
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`18.
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`At the LTE World Summit, Huawei also won numerous awards, such as the “Best
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`LTE traffic management product” and “Innovation in HetNet development” awards in 2014, and
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`the “Best NFV Innovation of the Year” and “Biggest Contribution to 5G Development” awards
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`in 2015. Huawei was the only company that won two awards in both years.
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`19.
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`After winning the “Best Managed Services Innovation Award” at Managed
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`Services World Congress 2016, Huawei won the “Wireless Infrastructure Innovation” award and
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`the “Cloud Innovation of the Year” award at the 2016 Telecoms Awards Ceremony in London
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`for Operation Web Services (“OWS”) due to Huawei’s achievements in software defined
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`operation research to enable ICT Managed Services. In 2017, Huawei won the Network
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`Functions Virtualization (“NFV”) Innovation Award for its NFV Integration Service at the
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`World Communication Awards organized by Total Telecom.
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`20.
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`In 2018, Huawei’s RuralStar, WTTx, and PoleStar solutions respectively won the
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`GSM Association’s (“GSMA’s”) Best Mobile Innovation for Emerging Markets award, the
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`International Telecommunication Union’s (“ITU’s”) Global Corporate Award for Sustainable
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`Development, and the GSMA’s Outstanding Mobile Contribution to the United Nation
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`Sustainable Development Goals in Asia award. Huawei’s prefabricated modular data center
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`solution and modular Uninterruptable Power Supply (“UPS”) continue to hold the largest market
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`share globally. Huawei also won Datacenter Dynamics’ (“DCD’s”) global annual Living at the
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`Edge award.
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`21.
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`At Internet of Things (“IoT”) Solutions World Congress 2018, Huawei’s
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`OceanConnect Internet of Vehicles (“IoV”) Platform, which helped Groupe PSA become a
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`leader in mobility services, won the award for Business Transformation.
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`22.
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`Huawei was also awarded a First Class Progress in Science and Technology Prize
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`for 2018 for unveiling the blade base station. Among other awards, Huawei has also been
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`repeatedly named one of the Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company, and one of the
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`World’s 50 Most Innovative Firms by BCG.
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`23.
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`Huawei has also won numerous awards and substantial industry recognition for its
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`infrastructure and enterprise products, such as video conferencing and data communication
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`products. As an example, Huawei was awarded the Frost & Sullivan Asia-Pacific Video
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`Conferencing Endpoints Market Leadership Award at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Information and
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`Communication Technologies (“ICT”) awards ceremony. The award recognized Huawei’s
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`market leadership, technology and solution innovation, and customer value proposition in the
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`video conference industry. As another example, Huawei’s data communication products such as
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`data center products including CloudEngine switches and controller were awarded Gartner Peer
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`Insights Customers’ Choice in 2019 and the “Best of Show Award” at Interop Tokyo in 2016,
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`2017, and 2018. And Huawei’s Wi-Fi 6 products AirEngine AP, Router NetEngine 8000 and
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`NetEngine 9000 400G were awarded the “Best of Show Award” grand prize at Interop Tokyo
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`2019.
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`24.
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`Huawei has also won numerous awards and substantial industry recognition for its
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`smartphones and other mobile devices. As an example, Huawei received the European Image
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`and Sound Association (“EISA”) Best Smartphone 2019-2020 award for Huawei’s P30 Pro. The
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`EISA recognized the P30 Pro’s camera as being far beyond any of its competitors, including its
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`low-light capabilities, portrait mode, and its ultra-wide and periscopic 5x telephoto lenses.
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`Huawei also received the Technical Image Press Association (“TIPA”) Best Photo Smartphone
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`2019 award for the P30 Pro. In December 2019, independent benchmark organization DxoMark
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`Image Labs gave Huawei’s Mate 30 Pro 5G the highest DXOMARK Camera score ever
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`awarded, praising its image quality, autofocus, and zoom performance. Huawei smartphones
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`received two awards from the GSMA at Mobile World Congress 2019: Huawei’s Mate 20 Pro
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`won Best Smartphone and Huawei’s Mate X foldable 5G smartphone won Best Connected
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`Mobile Device.
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`25.
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`During the past 20 years, Huawei has also endeavored to drive the mobile
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`industry forward through collaborations on commercialization, innovation, and standardization.
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`According to Current Analysis, Huawei is the clear overall leader in such efforts, due to the
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`strength of its IT product portfolio, its broad variety of network solution options including high-
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`and low-capacity offerings, and its range of power output levels and architectures. Huawei also
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`invests in open source communities and partners with major industry players to innovate in
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`emerging domains, such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things.
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`26.
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`As a result of Huawei’s commitment to innovation and significant long-term
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`investment in R&D, Huawei has become one of the world’s largest patent holders. As of
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`December 31, 2019, Huawei holds more than 85,000 issued patents, covering all major
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`jurisdictions of the world, including 40,000 Patents granted in the United States and Europe.
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`Huawei’s significant efforts in research and development demonstrate the value that Huawei
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`places on innovation, and on sharing its efforts with the public, in return for a limited right to use
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`its own inventions exclusively and/or to license its inventions to other companies willing to pay a
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`reasonable royalty for their use.
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`VERIZON’S USE OF HUAWEI’S INNOVATIONS
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`27.
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`Verizon has knowingly used, and is using, Huawei’s patented technology without
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`a license.
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`28.
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`Verizon creates, promotes, uses, maintains, and provides access to infringing
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`technologies and services (“Infringing Technologies & Services”) that incorporate and/or utilize
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`Huawei’s patented technology, including through the utilization and incorporation of network
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`infrastructure such as Cisco Integrated Service Routers, Aggregation Services Routers, Network
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`Convergence Systems, Nexus Switches, Catalyst Switches, and Clouds Services Router 1000v
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`series, which facilitate communications throughout Verizon’s networks. For example, Verizon’s
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`“Enterprise Solutions offers traditional circuit-based network services, and advanced networking
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`solutions including Private IP, Ethernet, and Software-Defined Wide Area Network, along with
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`our traditional voice services and advanced workforce productivity and customer contact center
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`solutions.” Verizon’s 2019 Annual Report at 88.
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`29.
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`Verizon also creates, promotes, uses, maintains, and provides access to its
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`Infringing Technologies & Services that incorporate and/or utilize Huawei’s patented technology
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`through the utilization and incorporation of network infrastructure and services such as Juniper
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`MX series routers and T series routers, SRX Series and/or virtualized SRX (vSRX) Services
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`Gateways, which support Verizon’s Infringing Technologies & Services.
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`30.
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`Verizon also creates, promotes, uses, maintains, and provides access to its
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`Infringing Technologies & Services that incorporate and/or utilize Huawei’s patented technology
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`through its distribution and/or reselling of services such as Cisco Webex, and distribution of
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`applications such as the Smart Family application and the One Talk application.
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`31.
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`Verizon has profited greatly from the Infringing Technologies & Services. See
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`Verizon 2019 Annual Report at p. 12 (“Total Wireline segment operating revenues for the year
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`ended December 31, 2018 totaled $29.8 billion . . . In 2018, Enterprise Solutions revenues were
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`$8.8 billion, representing approximately 30% of Wireline’s aggregate revenues.”).
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`LICENSING NEGOTIATIONS
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`32.
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`To protect its intellectual property rights, Huawei contacted Verizon on February
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`7, 2019 to discuss Verizon’s need for a license to Huawei’s patents. Huawei specifically
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`identified patents from its portfolio and specific services offered by Verizon that infringed
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`Huawei’s patents, such as those at issue here.
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`33.
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`Because of Huawei’s notice, Verizon has known about at least the ’709 Patent,
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`the ’986 Patent, and the ’693 Patent at least as early as February 7, 2019.
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`34.
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`Huawei then traveled from China and met in person with Verizon – in New York
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`near Verizon’s headquarters – on March 28, 2019 to discuss Verizon’s need for a license to
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`Huawei’s patents. Huawei identified additional patents from its portfolio and services offered by
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`Verizon that require a license to Huawei’s patents.
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`35.
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`On March 29, 2019, Huawei tried to move the licensing discussions forward in a
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`cooperative manner by providing claim charts to Verizon. Those claim charts included the ’709
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`Patent, the ’986 Patent, the ’693 Patent, the ’288 Patent, the ’366 Patent, and the ’832 Patent.
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`36.
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`Because of Huawei’s notice, Verizon has known about the ’288 Patent, the ’366
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`Patent, and the ’832 Patent at least as early as March 29, 2019. And Huawei provided additional
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`notice of the ’709 Patent, the ’986 Patent, and the ’693 Patent at least as early as March 29, 2019.
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`37.
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`On June 4th and 5th, 2019, Huawei representatives from China again met in-person
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`with representatives from Verizon in New York and discussed claim charts selected by Verizon
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`concerning a wide variety of technologies.
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`38.
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`On June 18, 2019, Huawei representatives spoke with Verizon representatives via
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`telephone. Verizon committed to identifying issues and concerns regarding the claim charts
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`discussed during the June 4th and 5th meeting. Huawei agreed to travel for yet another in-person
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`meeting in New York, and Verizon advised it would identify more Huawei claim charts to be
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`discussed at their next meeting.
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`39.
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`On July 30-31, 2019, September 3-4, 2019, and November 21-22, 2019, Huawei
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`representatives from China met in-person with representatives from Verizon in New York and
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`discussed the additional claim charts. Those claim charts included the ’709 Patent, discussed on
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`July 31, and the ’832 Patent, discussed on September 4.
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`40.
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`On January 21, 2020, Huawei representatives from China again met in-person
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`with representatives from Verizon in New York, but there was no substantial progress and thus
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`no licensing agreement was reached.
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`41.
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`Because Verizon has not accepted Huawei’s numerous flexible approaches during
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`the year-long negotiations, Huawei is compelled to now enforce its patent rights through this
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`lawsuit.
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`COUNT I: INFRINGEMENT OF PATENT NO. 7,965,709
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`42.
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`Huawei realleges and incorporates by reference Paragraphs 1-41 above, as if fully
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`set forth herein.
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`43.
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`The U.S. Patent Office duly and properly issued the ’709 Patent, entitled “Bridge
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`Forwarding Method and Apparatus,” on June 21, 2011. Huawei Technologies is the assignee of
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`all right, title, and interest in and to the ’709 Patent and possesses the exclusive right of recovery
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`for past, present, and future infringement. Each and every claim of the ’709 Patent is valid and
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`enforceable. A true and correct copy of the ’709 Patent is attached hereto as Exhibit A.
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`44.
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`The ’709 Patent provides novel, useful and more effective and efficient
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`techniques for bridge forwarding between multiple Virtual Local Area Networks (“VLANs”)
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`that overcome the problems of the prior art and thereby improve the functioning of computer and
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`network equipment.
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`45.
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`The ’709 Patent is generally directed to a novel and inventive technical solution to
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`a problem relating to computer and networking technology, and in particular to the problem of
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`“bridge forwarding of [] Ethernet frames between multiple VLANs.” The ’709 Patent at
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`Abstract. The background section of the ’709 Patent explains in reference to prior art bridge
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`forwarding that there are “two approaches for forwarding the frames of the Ethernet at present:
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`Layer 2 Ethernet bridge and Layer 3 IP route.” Id. at 1:13-15. “FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating
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`the bridge forwarding within one VLAN in the prior art.” Id. at 1:32-33. Figure 1 is shown
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`below:
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`46.
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`In reference to the prior art, the ’709 Patent explains that “the relationship
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`between the VLAN and the Virtual Switching Instance (“VSI”) is [a] one-to-one relationship,”
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`which means “the multiple-to-one relationship between multiple VLANs with one VSI is not
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`supported, the Ethernet frames can only be forwarded within one VLAN by means of Layer 2
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`Ethernet bridge forwarding.” Id. at 2:7-12. In reference to prior art methods for bridge
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`forwarding across VLANs, the ’709 discloses that “[i]f the frames need to be forwarded across
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`VLANs, the Layer 3 IP routing must be adopted.” Id. at 2:12-13. The ’709 Patent further
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`explains that in the prior art, “the Ethernet frames can only be broadcasted to one VLAN by
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`means of bridge forwarding, and broadcasting to multiple VLANs by means of bridge
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`forwarding is not supported.” Id. at 2:13-16. As such, broadcasting to multiple VLANs using
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`bridge forwarding was not supported. Thus, prior to the inventions of the ’709 Patent, there
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`existed a need for a more thorough and efficient method of bridge forwarding between multiple
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`VLANs.
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`47.
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`The inventions of the ’709 Patent provide technical solutions to the problems in
`
`the prior art described above. The ’709 Patent seeks to address these and other problems in the
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`prior art by providing a non-conventional, novel solution that allows the extension of bridge
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`forwarding to provide cross-VLAN bridge forwarding of frames. The ’709 Patent explains that
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`“the cross-VLAN bridge forwarding of frames is realized by establishing the relationship
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`between the {Port, VLAN} and the VSI and implementing bridge forwarding of frames among
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`different {Port, VLAN}s, and the multiple-to-one relationship between multiple VLANs with
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`one VSI.” Id. at 3:23-32.
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`48.
`
`The inventions of the ’709 Patent provide technical solutions to the problems in
`
`the prior art described above. The ’709 Patent describes, for example, “a bridge forwarding
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`method and a bridge forwarding apparatus to realize cross-VLAN bridge forwarding of frames.”
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`Id. at 2:20-22. The ’709 Patent next describes supporting the multiple-to-one relationship
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`between multiple VLANs with one VSI. The ’709 Patent then describes source port filtering to
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`prevent forwarding loops. The ’709 Patent also discloses that “bridge forwarding among multi-
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`layer VLAN IDs is supported by the present invention,” which is not present in the prior art. Id.
`
`at 3:36-38.
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`49.
`
`The inventions of the ’709 Patent improve computer and network equipment
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`functionality by improving and solving problems in a computer or networked device’s capability
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`of performing bridge forwarding between multiple VLANs with better efficiency. The
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`inventions of the ’709 Patent provide a computer-based solution to a computer-specific problem.
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`The inventions of the ’709 Patent are improvements over the prior art and other techniques for
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`bridge forwarding, and the ’709 Patent enables a combination of features not present in the prior
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`art and other techniques.
`
`50.
`
`For example, the inventions of the ’709 Patent provide for improved computer
`
`and network operation by enabling bridge forwarding to more efficiently use resources and
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`prevent forwarding loops. The specification discloses that “during the process of frame
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`forwarding, whether the input/output port is the same as the input/output VLAN ID is
`
`determined, so source port filtering can be implemented effectively to prevent forwarding loops.”
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`Id. at 3:33-36.
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`51.
`
`As another example, the inventions of the ’709 Patent provide for improved
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`computer and network operation by providing enhanced methods for bridge forwarding that
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`include cross-VLAN bridge forwarding of frames. E.g., id. at Abstract.
`
`52.
`
`The claims of the ’709 Patent contain an inventive concept to improve the
`
`functioning of computers and other networked devices. Claims 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 claim
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`ordered combinations of activities of a computer or networked device that were new, novel,
`
`innovative, and unconventional at the time the ’709 Patent application was filed. These ordered
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`combinations are set forth in claims 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 of the ’709 Patent. The ordered
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`combinations of elements in claim 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 were not well understood, routine or
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`conventional at the time the ’709 Patent application was filed. The ordered combinations of the
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`Case 6:20-cv-00090-ADA Document 1 Filed 02/05/20 Page 17 of 173
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`inventions of claims 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 are practical, particular, non-conventional and
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`non-generic techniques of bridge forwarding.
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`53.
`
`In violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271, Verizon has directly infringed, contributed to the
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`infringement of, and/or induced others to infringe at least claims 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 of
`
`the ’709 Patent by, among other things, making, using, offering for sale, selling, and/or
`
`importing into the United States unlicensed systems, products, and/or services that infringe at
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`least claims 1, 4, 7, 16-18, 21, and 23 of the ’709 Patent. Such unlicensed systems, products,
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`and/or services include, by way of example and without limitation, Cisco routers supporting
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`Ethernet Flow Point functionality, including but not limited to the Cisco ASR900 series,
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`ASR920 series, ASR1000 series, ASR9000 series, Catalyst 6500 series, ISR 4000 series, and
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`CSR 1000v series routers (“Cisco EFP Products”).
`
`54.
`
`Cisco EFP Products are operable to forward frames between multiple VLANs.
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`See, e.g., https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/asr9000/software/asr9k r5-
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`3/lxvpn/configuration/guide/b-l2vpn-cg53xasr9k.pdf;
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`https://www.verizon.com/about/news/vzw/2010/01/pr2010-01-07a.
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`55.
`
`Cisco EFP Products are operable to receive, via an input port, a frame associated
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`with a first virtual local area network (VLAN). For example, the Cisco ASR9000 series router is
`
`configured to support Ethernet Flow Point. See, e.g.,
`
`https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/routers/asr9000/software/asr9k_r5-
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`3/lxvpn/configuration/guide/b-l2vpn-cg53xasr9k.pdf at 11 (“An Ethernet Flow Point (EFP) is a
`
`Layer 2 logical subinterface used to classify traffic under a physical or a bundle interface”).
`
`“You can bridge or tunnel the traffic by many ways from one or more of the router’s ingress
`
`EFPs to one or more egress EFPs.” Id. The Cisco ASR9000 series router can be configured to
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`define data-forwarding behavior. Id. at 15 (“The EFP can be used to designate the frames
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`belonging to a particular Ethernet flow forwarded in the data path”).
`
`56.
`
`Cisco EFP Products are operable to obtain an input VLAN identifier (ID)
`
`representing the first VLAN and a destination media access control (MAC) address of the
`
`received frame. For example, the configuration guide discloses:
`
`An EFP can be regarded as an instantiation of a particular service. An EFP is
`defined by a set of filters. These filters are applied to all the ingress traffic to classify
`the frames that belong to a particular EFP. An EFP filter is a set of entries, where
`each entry looks similar to the start of a packet (ignoring source/destination MAC
`address). Each entry usually contains 0, 1 or 2 VLAN tags. A packet that starts with
`the same tags as an entry in the filter is said to match the filter; if the start of the
`packet does not correspond to any entry in the filter then the packet does not match
`the filter.
`
`Id. at 11.
`
`
`57.
`
`As a further example, “[t]he EFP identifies frames belonging to a particular flow
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`on a given port, independent of their Ethernet encapsulation. . . . The frames can be matched to
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`an EFP using: VLAN tag or tags.” Id. at 13. The co