mCom IP, LLC, a Texas entity associated with patent monetization firm Dynamic IP Deals LLC (d/b/a DynaIP), has fired off another round of suits in its sole litigation campaign, hitting Blend Labs (1:21-cv-07975) in the Southern District of New York; IBM (6:21-cv-00966) and INETCO and WoodForest Financial (WoodForest National Bank) (6:21-cv-00989) in the Western District of Texas; FCTI (2:21-cv-07474) in the Central District of California; and CAFCU (3:21-cv-02285), Hyosung (Nautilus Hyosung Americas) (3:21-cv-02215), and UNISYS (3:21-cv-02288) in the Northern District of Texas. The single patent-in-suit generally relates to connecting multiple devices to a financial institution, accessing stored customer data, and monitoring that user session to select related "targeted marketing content", with the defendants accused of infringement through the provision of their respective "unified banking systems". At issue are features related to consumer transaction management and monitoring, customer data analytics, and marketing.
Comprising a family of one, the asserted patent (8,862,508) issued to named inventors Thomas Maiorino and Daniel Taylor in October 2014 with an estimated priority date in November 2004, based on the filing of a provisional application. mCom received the '508 patent in January 2021 from mCom IP Holdings—an entity that Delaware records indicate was not formed until mid-February 2021. In that assignment agreement, Mairoino signed on behalf of TVR Partners LLC, identified as the managing member of mCom IP Holdings.
Maiorino, an apparent veteran of "USABancshares.com, BankPhiladelphia" ("EVP, founding shareholder, counsel, strategy, board management" from January 1995 through September 2000) and the current principal with TVR Partners LLC (described as involved in "Fintech, Private Equity, IP transactions, Banking and Financial Services; Health Care and Tech investing and consulting") since 2010, identifies as having patented the "OmniChannel Banking Technology platform" as the "Founder, Principal, CEO" of mCom Financial Solutions from October 2000 through January 2014.
Taylor, identifying a past position as "Director of Electric Banking" with USABancShares from 1997 through 2000 (where he reports having "created one of the worlds first web based banking portals"), apparently cofounded mCom Financial Solutions with Maiorino, describing that business as "a software and services technology company [that] offered a client-server platform that enabled banks and financial service providers to maximize the impact of their electronic offerings and meet the challenges of increased competition". Per social media, he left that position in December 2006 and currently holds positions in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area with apparent startups Arkeyo, centertec, Chicken Waffle, iugo, and purBEAM.
mCom IP was formed in Texas on December 30, 2020 with Pueblo Nuevo LLC—another Texas entity controlled by DynaIP—as its sole managing member. DynaIP is a patent monetization firm having offices in Houston, San Jose, and Philadelphia; it has been disclosed as a nonparty with an interest in the outcome of various litigation, including Aftechmobile Inc.'s campaign targeting app creation tools; Cooperative Entertainment Inc.'s peer-to-peer media delivery campaign; Mesa Digital LLC's campaign targeting "multimedia" mobile devices; a video processing campaign run by VDPP LLC; and a hotspot campaign waged by WiNet Labs LLC.
Carlos O. Gorrichategui, which Texas records list as a member of DynaIP, holds himself out as on social media as engaged in "IP Monetization", as the president of DynaIP since its beginning, and as the cofounder and COO of NextTechs Technologies LLC, "a technology investment bank engaged in the global intermediation of IP offers and needs", also based in Houston, Texas, since 2004. (NextTechs Technologies was formed in Texas in May 2005; current state records identify Michael Fitzgerald as a member and director of NextTechs.) Through DynaIP and its controlled entities, Gorrichategui also manages the growing litigation campaigns of AML IP LLC, Authwallet LLC, Cybersoft IP LLC, and PacSec3, LLC.
mCom launched this, its sole litigation campaign, in March 2021 and has since hit 24 defendants including Avaya, BBVA, Infosys, NCR, PNC, RedPoint Global, US Bank, and Wells Fargo. To date, the suits against DH Corporation (d/b/a FINASTRA), Infosys, RedPoint Global, and Wells Fargo have each been dismissed with prejudice. Of the remaining defendants, CSI and NCR have responded with motions to dismiss for pleading adequacies; BBVA, PNC, and US Bank have filed answers; and the remaining defendants have yet to answer or file a response to their respective complaints.
The new Central District of California suit has been assigned to District Judge James V. Selna, the Northern District of Texas suits to District Judge Karen Gren Scholer, and the Western District of Texas suits to District Judge Alan D. Albright. A judge has yet to be assigned in the Southern District of New York suit. A one-page assessment of this campaign can be downloaded from RPX Insight here. 9/17, FCTI, Central District of California; 9/17, Hyosung, 9/24, CAFCU, UNISYS, Northern District of Texas; 9/17, IBM, 9/24, INETCO, WoodForest, Western District of Texas; 9/24, Blend Labs, Southern District of New York.
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