BCG Seeks Declaratory Judgment on Four Blockchain Continuation Patents.

The complaint

The case is The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. v. Max A. Rady, No. 1:26-cv-08298 (S.D.N.Y.), a 35-page declaratory-judgment complaint filed September 23, 2026, ECF No. 1. It has eight counts: a declaration of invalidity and a declaration of noninfringement for each of U.S. Patents 12,375,261, 12,401,496, 12,580,734, and 12,683,762.

The patents and the earlier cases

BCG says Rady sued BCG and another company in this court in 2020, Rady v. Boston Consulting Group, Inc., No. 1:20-cv-02285 (S.D.N.Y.), on U.S. Patent 10,469,250; that the court held all claims of the '250 Patent invalid under 35 U.S.C. 101; and that the Federal Circuit affirmed in No. 2022-2218 on March 27, 2024. BCG says Rady then asserted continuations of the '250 Patent in No. 4:25-cv-04031 (S.D. Tex.), dismissed that case, and on June 29, 2026 filed No. 1:26-cv-12979 (D. Mass.) against BCG and No. 1:26-cv-00767 (D. Del.) against other defendants, each on the four continuation patents. It says the continuation patents share the '250 Patent's specification, and it identifies the claims it says Rady asserts: at least claim 1 of the '261 and '496 patents, claims 1 and 21 of the '734 patent, and claim 7 of the '762 patent. (Compl. paras. 1 to 9.)

On the USPTO record, the '250 Patent, titled Physical Item Mapping to Blockchain Framework, issued November 5, 2019. The '261 Patent (July 29, 2025) and the '496 Patent (August 26, 2025) carry the same title. The '734 Patent, titled Method for Irrefutably Identifying Physical Items, issued March 17, 2026, and the '762 Patent, titled System for Verifying the Identity and/or Authenticity of a Physical Item, issued July 14, 2026.

What the lawsuit alleges

BCG alleges that the asserted claims are invalid under 35 U.S.C. 101 as directed to the same abstract idea as the '250 Patent claims, and also under 35 U.S.C. 102 or 103 and 35 U.S.C. 112, and that it does not infringe them. It alleges that Rady filed, dismissed, and refiled suits to avoid another result in New York, and asks that validity and infringement be decided in the Southern District of New York. (Compl. paras. 1, 43 to 88 and Counts I to VIII.)

What to watch next

The docket shows a statement of relatedness filed October 1, 2026 (ECF No. 10), a summons returned executed and a memo endorsement on October 23, 2026 (ECF Nos. 11, 12). Watch for Rady's response and for any motion over which forum hears the continuation patents.