Comcast finetunes its case against MaxLinear

Lawsuits pitting Comcast against chipmaker MaxLinear continue to slog through a New York court.

Comcast filed a third amended complaint in a New York court on March 20 alleging that MaxLinear breached its contracts with the cable operator by prematurely scuttling two agreements – including one that contains a critical no-sue clause – that are tied to the technical upkeep of millions of cable modems powered by MaxLinear silicon.

That case in New York is complicated by separate lawsuits filed against Comcast in California by Entropic Communications LLC (Entropic LLC). Entropic LLC alleges that Comcast is infringing on several patents related to Multimedia over Coax (MoCA), a technology that's largely been used to distribute video over home coax wires for whole-home DVRs. Entropic LLC, considered a non-practicing entity, acquired the MoCA patent portfolio from MaxLinear around March 2021.

In the latest version of Comcast's complaint, the operator is seeking several judgements:

Related:Comcast presses court to toss MaxLinear's counterclaims about FDX tech

Fight over scheduling

But it gets even more complicated.

Late last year, MaxLinear filed a series of counterclaims, including allegations that Comcast stole MaxLinear trade secrets linked to Full Duplex (FDX) DOCSIS technology, and then hired another chipmaker, Broadcom, to commercialize it. Comcast denies the claims, arguing that its engineers "independently created" FDX amplifier technology with another "trusted vendor," which happens to be Broadcom.

Related:MaxLinear: Comcast stole our FDX ideas

MaxLinear's counterclaims are creating a point of contention around scheduling. Comcast wants its original claims to be prioritized and for MaxLinear's counterclaims to be scheduled separately.

MaxLinear believes there's grounds for the discovery schedules for Comcast's original lawsuit and MaxLinear's counterclaims to be combined into a single schedule.

Comcast argues that MaxLinear is trying to delay matters with its "belated (and meritless) counterclaims." Comcast believes its case against MaxLinear should be "adjudicated expeditiously" as the operator tangles with Entropic LLC in a California court.

A wrench in the Entropic-Charter case

And yet there are more complications.

Entropic LLC's case against Comcast in California continues on. In February 2023, Entropic also filed separate but similar lawsuits against Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Dish Network and DirecTV that also focused on the patent portfolio that Entropic acquired from MaxLinear.

However, Charter and Entropic LLC settled their patent dispute late last year after Entropic moved for a summary judgement concerning a Charter defense focused on DOCSIS technology.

Related:Comcast sues MaxLinear for breach of contract

As spotted by Multichannel News, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking to unseal the records in that case, arguing that keeping the details under seal is "improper" and "unjustified," and muddles what was actually determined by the court.

"The public version of Entropic's motion [for a summary judgement] is heavily redacted, making it hard to understand," the EFF noted in this blog post. "The legal issues in the case and their potential implications for the DOCSIS standard are a matter of public concern."

"However, based on the case law cited in the motion, it seems Entropic may have argued that Charter is not entitled to a license defense based on DOCSIS because the patents-in-suit are not standard-essential to DOCSIS," the EFF noted in a motion filed on March 20 that asks the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas Marshall Division to unseal the documents.

According to the EFF, the two key issues are what the DOCSIS license means by "licensed technology" as a matter of contract interpretation, and whether Charter has "plausibly shown any of the patents at issue fall within the meaning of 'Licensed Technology'."

While Entropic never moved to seal its motion nor provide a justification for sealing, "[e]very associated exhibit remains sealed," the EFF said. "The public version of Charter's objection sheds no new light on the two key issues that underlie the DOCSIS License defense … The docket in this case is replete with violations of the public right of access."

Citing meetings in January, the EFF said Entropic stated that it did not hold a view on whether the information should be sealed and that it won't take any action on it. According to the EFF's March 20 motion, Charter counsel told the EFF that the sealing was justified under a protective order.

"As such, EFF finds itself at an impasse and files this motion," the organization said.

Notably, a November 26, 2023, court filing in the Entropic LLC-Charter case said that MaxLinear signed an agreement with Charter to develop cable modems compatible with DOCSIS 4.0. That agreement was signed about three months after Entropic LLC purchased the asserted patents from MaxLinear.