The complaint
The case is UpChat LLC v. NeighborFavor, Inc., No. 7:26-cv-00384 (W.D. Tex., Midland/Odessa Division), a four-page patent complaint filed September 18, 2026, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. The docket shows the case assigned to Judge David Counts under the division's order on patent cases. UpChat filed a complaint on the same patent the same day in No. 7:26-cv-00385.
What the patent covers
U.S. Patent 10,182,157, titled Systems and Methods for Communicating, issued January 15, 2019, from an application filed June 30, 2016. Claim 1 covers an apparatus for controlling access to a communication network: a storage device holding information that identifies a communication device's telephone number and information about a user's activity, and a processor that lets the device access the activity information when its identification data matches the stored information and that replaces the activity information with new activity information. Claim 11 recites the same steps as a method. The complaint refers to exemplary method claims charted in Exhibit 2. (U.S. Patent 10,182,157 claims 1 and 11; Compl. paras. 9 to 14.)
What the lawsuit alleges
UpChat, which the complaint describes as a New Mexico company, alleges it is the assignee of the '157 Patent. Count I alleges that the defendant directly infringed exemplary method claims of the patent through the products identified in the claim charts of Exhibit 2, including through internal testing and use by employees, and alleges, on information and belief, that other infringing devices were sold. It asks for damages for past infringement, a judgment that the patent is valid and enforceable, and a finding that the case is exceptional. (Compl. paras. 8 to 16; prayer.)
What to watch next
The docket shows the summons returned executed on October 15, 2026, a motion to extend the time to answer filed October 22, 2026, an order on that motion the same day, and a reset answer deadline entered October 23, 2026. Watch for NeighborFavor's answer or motion.