The transfer

Intellectual Ventures I LLC v. United Parcel Service, Inc. was filed on January 15, 2026 in the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, as No. 1:26-cv-00100 and assigned to Judge Alan D. Albright. UPS moved to transfer the case on May 15, 2026. On June 30, 2026, Judge Albright reassigned the case to Judge Andrew B. Davis. In a memorandum opinion and order dated October 23 and entered October 26, 2026, Judge Davis granted the motion and directed the clerk to transfer the case to the Northern District of Georgia. The opinion is not on the public docket.

The Northern District of Georgia docketed the case on October 26, 2026 as No. 1:26-cv-06475, assigned to Judge Sarah E. Geraghty. On October 27, two pending motions by Intellectual Ventures were submitted to Judge Geraghty: one to dismiss UPS's invalidity counterclaims and one to dismiss Counts II, IV and VI of the amended invalidity counterclaims of intervenor Hand Held Products, Inc.

The case in Texas

UPS answered on March 30, 2026 and filed counterclaims against both plaintiffs. The same day, Hand Held Products, Inc. moved without opposition to intervene, and Judge Albright granted the motion on March 31. Hand Held Products answered the complaint on April 3 and filed an amended counterclaim against Intellectual Ventures I on May 8. Intellectual Ventures moved to dismiss UPS's invalidity counterclaims on April 20 and the amended Hand Held Products invalidity counterclaims on May 22.

The complaint

The complaint is 134 pages. It says both plaintiffs are Delaware limited liability companies with their principal place of business in Bellevue, Washington. It alleges, upon information and belief, that UPS is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Atlanta, Georgia.

The patents and claims

Intellectual Ventures II is alleged to own the '715, '176 and '564 patents, and Intellectual Ventures I the '439 and '122 patents. The complaint says the '715 patent expired on September 21, 2025. USPTO assignment records show that Intellectual Ventures II acquired the '176 patent by an assignment executed and recorded on August 28, 2025, at Reel 72126, Frame 0923. Google Patents lists the '176 patent's adjusted expiration as May 26, 2026, and lists a 2012 lapse of that patent for nonpayment of a maintenance fee, followed by reinstatement. Google Patents also lists a July 20, 2026 entry recording that the '564 patent expired for failure to pay maintenance fees.

U.S. Patent 7,199,715, System and method for tracking ID tags using a data structure of tag reads, issued April 3, 2007. The complaint asserts at least claim 10, which depends from claims 9 and 1. Claim 1 covers tracking tags at successive points of a business process by attempting to read each tag at each point, populating a database with the readings and their times, modifying part of that information, and using the modified information to track the tags. Claim 9 adds using the database to identify a problematic portion of the supply chain with a relatively high level of tag read errors and physically modifying it, and claim 10 says the modification changes a handling process for the tagged objects or an environmental factor.

U.S. Patent 7,336,176, Position indicating system, issued February 26, 2008. Claim 13 covers a system with a position requesting device and a position indicating device that has first and second position indicating modules, activated after a position request, and a selecting module that drives one module or the other to output its signal, with a reference device for each module.

U.S. Patent 7,623,439, Cyclic diversity systems and methods, issued November 24, 2009. Claim 1 covers transmitting OFDM signals by generating an OFDM packet with a guard interval portion and a symbol data portion, cyclically advancing it by less than the guard interval so that the same non-zero number of samples shift into and out of the guard interval, and transmitting the original and shifted packets substantially simultaneously.

U.S. Patent 8,594,122, Transmit announcement indication, issued November 26, 2013. Claim 27 covers a station receiving a first frame that carries its address and an indication that a second frame for it will follow without its address, and then receiving that second frame after a short inter frame space (SIFS).

U.S. Patent 11,363,564, Paging in a wireless network, issued June 14, 2022. Claim 1 covers user equipment whose processor determines a paging occasion from a user identity known to the core network, monitors control channels for a paging identity, recovers a shared channel allocation, receives the shared channel and the paging message on it, and transmits a random access signal in response.

The accused products

The complaint pleads one count per patent. It accuses UPS's Smart Packages Smart Facilities System and Digital Twin System under the '715 patent, UPS Premier under the '176 patent, wireless products supporting IEEE 802.11n, 802.11ac and 802.11ax, including the DIAD 6, under the '439 patent, products using 802.11ac transmit announcement indications, including the DIAD 6, under the '122 patent, and LTE products including the Premier Platinum Label and the DIAD 5 and DIAD 6 devices under the '564 patent. It alleges, on information and belief, that the DIAD 6 is a customized mobile computer designed for UPS's field delivery operations. For each patent, it alleges that UPS knew or should have known of the patent but was willfully blind to its existence, and that UPS has known of it at least since receiving the complaint.

The relief sought

The prayer asks for a judgment of infringement of all five patents, a permanent injunction, an accounting of damages, a mandatory future royalty if no injunction issues, a finding of willful and/or egregious infringement with enhanced damages under 35 U.S.C. 284, damages, costs, expenses and interest under 35 U.S.C. 284, a declaration that the case is exceptional with attorneys' fees under 35 U.S.C. 285, and other relief. The complaint demands a jury under Rule 38(b).

What to watch next

Watch for Judge Geraghty's rulings on the two motions to dismiss the invalidity counterclaims and for scheduling under the Northern District of Georgia's patent local rules. A case can end at any time, including by settlement or voluntary dismissal.