The complaint
The East Texas case is Valtrus Innovations Ltd. v. Compass Datacenters LLC, No. 2:26-cv-00800-JRG (E.D. Tex.). It began in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, as No. 3:26-cv-02760, where the eight-page complaint of Valtrus Innovations Ltd. and Key Patent Innovations Ltd. v. Compass Datacenters, LLC was filed August 18, 2026 with a jury demand. A conditional transfer order (CTO-2) of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in MDL No. 3190 was filed in the case in early September, and the East Texas docket shows the case transferred in on September 9, 2026 and assigned to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. The complaint alleges that Valtrus owns the patent by assignment and that Key Patent Innovations is the beneficiary of a trust under which Valtrus holds it.
What the patent covers
U.S. Patent 6,868,682 is titled Agent based control method and system for energy management and issued March 22, 2005. Claim 1 covers a method of controlling data-center temperature by receiving temperature sensory data from a subsystem, processing it with a first agent in a hierarchy of agents to determine whether the subsystem is within a predetermined temperature range, adjusting a cooling-fluid delivery rate with the first agent to keep it in range, and requesting a second agent in the hierarchy to process the data when the first agent cannot keep the temperature in range unless the second agent redistributes the cooling fluid to one or more areas of the data center.
What the lawsuit is about
Valtrus alleges, on information and belief, that Compass infringed claim 1 of the '682 patent by performing cooling methods in its data centers, at least at its Dallas-Fort Worth data center facility, before the patent expired, using cooling equipment and control software from third-party suppliers, and it attaches exemplary claim charts as Exhibits 2 through 5. It alleges that its counsel wrote to Compass on January 9, 2025 offering a license and enclosing claim charts, and that the parties did not reach a license. A footnote states that Valtrus is not asserting U.S. Patent 6,854,287 against one supplier's equipment because of a representation it made to the Eastern District of Texas in connection with consolidating pending cases, and that it intends to assert that patent if Compass used other equipment. The prayer asks for damages for past infringement with interest, attorneys' fees, and other relief.
What to watch next
Compass answered the complaint and filed counterclaims on October 9, 2026 (ECF No. 24). The docket shows an entry titled Response to Non-Motion on October 26, 2026 (ECF No. 25). Watch for MDL scheduling orders.