Perceptix Technologies LLC has accused Meta Platforms (8:25-cv-01404) of infringing a single patent generally related to a certain "headset for a user specific audio service" over the provision of various Meta Quest-series virtual reality (VR) headsets. At issue in the new Central District of California complaint is the incorporation of an "information collecting unit", which determines whether the headsets have been put on, as well as features for controlling audio signal output through a settings pane. Perceptix pleads that it is the exclusive licensee of the asserted patent, which is owned by Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI).
ETRI is a South Korean research institution. Background for this setup—ETRI as patentholder exclusively licensing an entity that then files suit against others, including, previously, the big three wireless carriers—can be read at "2018 Patent Marketplace Trends: ETRI Continues Its Attempts to Exclusively License Patent Assertion Entities" (December 2018). As the title of that article suggests, the nature of past "exclusive license" agreements with ETRI has been questioned in court. Earlier in June, another such arrangement led OptimNet LLC's suit against Verizon (Verizon Wireless) in the Eastern District of Texas; for coverage, see here.
Perceptix was formed in California on May 14, 2025, with Farshad Farjami identified as its "agent for service of process" and organizer. The address listed corresponds to intellectual property law firm Farjami & Farjami LLP. In its certification of interested parties, Perceptix identifies ETRI as the only nonparty having a "pecuniary interest in the outcome of this case". A similar setup has occurred previously. In February 2024, similarly formed Haptix Solutions LLC filed suit against Microsoft over an ETRI-held patent. Not much substantive happened in that suit after its filing, a dismissal entered after earlier documents refer to a settlement.
Comprising a family of one, the patent (8,498,439) issued to ETRI in July 2013 with estimated priority date in July 2007. Orbit IP LLP filed the case for Perceptix. District Judge David O. Carter has been assigned to preside. 2/29, Central District of California.
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