MPHJ Technology, Federal Trade Commission Reach Agreement in Patent Enforcement Dispute

WACO, Texas, Nov. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC, has reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission that concludes the agency's investigation into the company's patent enforcement efforts. Under the agreement, MPHJ continues to have the right to enforce its patents by contacting companies suspected of infringement, and there is no restriction impairing MPHJ's right to enforce its patents. The agreement includes MPHJ's commitment that letters sent by the company and its counsel will continue to be accurate, and requires no material revisions to the company's letters. The agreement will not be formally concluded until certain procedural steps are carried out by the FTC.

The FTC's principal allegation was that MPHJ and its counsel indicated they would file infringement litigation against recipients of the letters, but then failed to do so. The company strongly maintains it did intend to bring suit, but refrained from doing so because of intervening patent reviews challenging certain MPHJ patents. The FTC was unwilling to accept that rationale as a reasonable basis for not bringing suit.

MPHJ and its counsel strongly maintain their position that the enforcement letters that were sent were accurate, required by law, and protected by the First Amendment. Three different federal courts have agreed with MPHJ on the First Amendment issue, including a recent final judgment in Nebraska in MPHJ's favor. In that judgment, the Nebraska Attorney General was permanently enjoined from interfering with the patent enforcement efforts of MPHJ and its counsel, and was ordered to pay all of the company's legal fees and costs.

"MPHJ is pleased that the FTC has agreed to end its investigation, and to enter into an agreement that does not impair MPHJ's right to continue to send the correspondence required to enforce its patents against infringers," says Mac Rust, who manages the company. "This resolution ensures that we can continue our efforts to protect our patent rights, and it avoids protracted administrative hearings and subsequent appeals."

MPHJ owns a number of patents on certain networking system technologies, and seeks to enforce those patents through licensing agreements and, when necessary, litigation. Both Canon Inc. and Sharp Corp. have entered into licenses, and have reached agreements with MPHJ on behalf of their customers. The company currently is pursuing several pending infringement cases in the federal courts.

For more information on the agreement, contact Barry Pound at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

SOURCE MPHJ Technology Investments, LLC