NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Spherix
Incorporated (Nasdaq: SPEX) an intellectual property
development company committed to the fostering and monetization of
intellectual property and the advancement of technology, today
announced that as part of its previously announced collaboration
with Equitable IP Holdings LLC ("Equitable" or the "Equitable IP
Program"), Equitable has filed three additional lawsuits for the
infringement of valuable patent assets formerly owned by Nortel
Networks.
The Equitable IP Program is designed to cost effectively and
rapidly monetize a portion of Spherix's patent portfolio. As part
of this agreement, Equitable brought together key leadership from
the areas of investment fund managers, patent litigation, and
patent monetization strategists, to monetize these valuable assets.
The three cases were filed in the U.S. District Court for the
District of Delaware against:
- Cincinnati Bell, Inc., case number 1:16-cv-00715-UNA
- Echostar Corporation, case number 1:16-cv-00716-UNA, and
- Frontier Communications Corporation, case number
1:16-cv-00714-UNA.
The combined market capitalization of the defendants named in
the complaints is in excess of $26
billion. The infringement claims relate to three
patents in total:
- U.S. Patent No. RE40,999 ("the '999 patent"), entitled "VLAN
Frame Format". The '999 patent is necessary to the practice of an
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ("IEEE")
networking standard that supports virtual local area networks
(VLANs) on an Ethernet network.
- U.S. Patent No. 6,970,461 ("the '461 patent"), entitled "Access
Control Enhancements for Delivery of Video and Other Service". The
inventions of the '461 patent resolve technical problems related to
satellites, video services cable modem and optic fiber
networks.
- U.S. Patent No. 7,478,167 ("the '167 patent"), entitled
"Resource Allocation Using An Auto-Discovery Mechanism For Provider
Provisioned Layer-2 and Layer-3 Virtual Private Networks". The
inventions of the '167 patent deal with inventive concepts that are
rooted in computerized electronic data communications networks, and
an improved method to establish or maintain VPN data-transmission
tunnels.
The following table shows the various patents that each
defendant is alleged to have infringed:
Defendant
|
Patent(s)
|
Cincinnati Bell,
Inc.
|
'999 patent, '461
patent, '167 patent
|
Echostar
|
'999
patent
|
Frontier
Communications Corporation
|
'999
patent
|
Dean Becker, Chairman of
Equitable commented, "These three suits are just the start of an
aggressive litigation based licensing effort to monetize these
valuable assets. We will file additional suits in the future,
to further assist Spherix derive value. Equitable is growing
in size and scope and we are glad to be working with Spherix, as we
work to become one of the premier patent monetization funds."
Anthony Hayes, Chief Executive
Officer of Spherix, stated, "We are extremely pleased to announce
these new litigations as part of our continuing objective to expand
our monetization efforts under the Equitable IP Program. We believe
there is widespread infringement of each of these patents and we
are excited about these additional steps towards value
creation. We will continue to work with Equitable to monetize
these assets to bring value for our shareholders, and we anticipate
more infringement cases in the very near future."
About Spherix
Spherix Incorporated was launched in 1967 as a scientific
research company. Spherix is committed to advancing innovation by
active participation in the patent market. Spherix draws on
portfolios of pioneering technology patents to partner with and
support product innovation.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal
securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should,"
"believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue,"
"predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar
expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current
expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company
believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue
reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking
statements, which are based on information available to us on the
date of this release. These forward looking statements are based
upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various
risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set
forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its
patent business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be
materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any
obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Contact:
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Investor
Relations:
|
Hayden IR
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Brett Mass, Managing
Partner
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Phone: (646)
536-7331
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Email:
brett@haydenir.com
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www.haydenir.com
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Spherix:
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Phone: (703)
992-9325
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Email:
info@spherix.com
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www.spherix.com
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SOURCE Spherix Incorporated