Secure Communication Technologies, LLC (SCT) has filed separate lawsuits against Alphabet (Google) (1:25-cv-01207), in the Western District of Texas, and Apple (2:25-cv-00763), in the Eastern District of Texas. The plaintiff targets the provision of various devices, including Chromebooks, laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more, with Google features Nearby Share/Quick Share, Fast Pair, and/or Find Hub (f/k/a Find My) or with Apple features AirDrop and/or Find My at issue. The three wireless communications patents asserted appeared in SCT's July 2024 complaint against Samsung; that case has just been dismissed with prejudice after a notice of settlement.
The patents-in-suit (11,334,918; 11,443,344; 11,687,971) belong to a family of 28 with issue dates ranging from May 2011 through September 2024. The family has an earliest estimated priority date in September 2008, based on the filing of multiple provisional applications. Prosecution of at least one related application continues before the USPTO. Ownership of the family appears to be split, between the plaintiff here; Proctor Consulting, LLC, an entity formed by named inventors James A. Proctor, III and James A. Proctor, Jr., identified in SCT's complaints as father and son; and Proxicom Wireless, LLC, another entity under the Proctors' control.
In its answer, Samsung pleaded a counterclaim for inequitable conduct "based on materially false claims of priority and continuation status made during prosecution of a related patent of the Asserted Patents". When the notice of settlement ended the dispute, a motion to transfer the case against Samsung for convenience to the Northern District of California was pending. There, Samsung argued that SCT has minimal ties to the Eastern District of Texas, since it was formed within six months of filing that case and appeared to have only "a single member, its Manager, founder, and principal, Eric M. Albritton, who is a patent attorney".
SCT is a Texas entity, formed on January 12, 2024 under Albritton's management. Albritton, a former named partner with Nelson Bumgardner Albritton P.C. (now Nelson Bumgardner Conroy P.C.) through March 2021, has formed multiple other Texas entities over the past few years: Paracletus Management, LLC, created in January 2021 with Albritton as president; Patented Technology Solutions, LLC, in April 2022, as manager; Ravus Holdings, LLC, in April 2022, as manager; and Albritton Capital Management, LLC, in November 2022, as manager.
In May 2024, RPX noted the transfer of 16 issued US patents to SCT that February. On July 15, 2025, the transfer of an additional 17 patents (from the same family) was recorded from the same assignor, Proxicom Wireless, to SCT, with that transaction also dated in February 2024. Proxicom litigated nine patents from this portfolio between January 2018 and June 2020 against first Macy's and then Target. The alleged infringement of the asserted wireless communications patents was focused on the provision of in-store "beacon technology" systems to provide information about items through apps installed on their mobile devices. The Macy's case ended quickly (although not until after Proxicom filed a motion for sanctions for discovery violations) while Target decimated the portfolio, although not completely, through a series of petitions for inter partes review (IPR).
Samsung filed a trio of May 2025 petitions for IPR, one of each of the three asserted patents in SCT's campaign. Institution decisions are pending, with terminations yet to be filed (in light of the apparent settlement). Google filed its own trio of petitions on July 2, 2025. Nelson Bumgardner Conroy P.C. represents the plaintiff. (McKool Smith P.C. also represented SCT against Samsung.) The case against Google has been assigned to District Judge David A. Ezra; the suit against Apple, to District Judge Rodney Gilstrap. 8/4, Alphabet (Google), Western District of Texas, Apple, Eastern District of Texas.
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