Pathway IP LLC v. The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associates Identified on Schedule A

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

1

Download

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

COMPLAINT (Redacted) filed by Pathway IP LLC; Jury Demand. Filing fee $ 405, receipt number AILNDC-23431928. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A (Redacted), # 2 Exhibit 1 (Redacted), # 3 Exhibit 2 (Redacted), # 4 Exhibit 3, # 5 Exhibit 4, # 6 Exhibit 5, # 7 Exhibit 6 (Redacted))(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/02/2025)

2025-05-02

2

View

CIVIL Cover Sheet (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

Notice of Claims by Pathway IP LLC (Redacted) (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

Notice of Affiliates Pursuant to LR 3.2 by Pathway IP LLC (Redacted) (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

MOTION by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC for leave to file Certain Documents Under Seal (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Sealed Complaint and Exhibits (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A, # 2 Exhibit 1, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Sealed Exhibit 2 to the Complaint (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 1, Product 1, # 2 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 2, Product 1, # 3 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 2, Product 2, # 4 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 2, Product 3, # 5 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 3, Product 1, # 6 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 3, Product 2, # 7 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 3, Product 3, # 8 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 4, Product 1, # 9 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 4, Product 2, # 10 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 4, Product 3, # 11 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 5, Product 1, # 12 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 5, Product 2, # 13 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 5, Product 3, # 14 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 6, Product 1, # 15 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 6, Product 2, # 16 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 6, Product 3, # 17 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 7, Product 1, # 18 Exhibit Ex.2, Def. 8, Product 1)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Notice of Claims (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Notification of Affiliates (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC by Nicholas S. Lee (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC by Sameeul Haque (Haque, Sameeul) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

2025-05-04

1

View

EMAILED Patent report to Patent Trademark Office, Alexandria VA (jxm, ) (Entered: 05/05/2025)

2025-05-05

1

View

CLERK'S NOTICE: Pursuant to Local Rule 73.1(b), a United States Magistrate Judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action. If all parties consent to have the currently assigned United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in this case, including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings, all parties must sign their names on the attached Consent To form. This consent form is eligible for filing only if executed by all parties. The parties can also express their consent to jurisdiction by a magistrate judge in any joint filing, including the Joint Initial Status Report or proposed Case Management Order. (bi, )

2025-05-05

1

No Actions

CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Young B. Kim. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 1). (bi, )

2025-05-05

1

No Actions

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants GSJ-US, weiying-US, MEIXIANCI, Wonderful LIFE, SELFILA Technology by Lance Y. Liu (Liu, Lance) (Entered: 05/09/2025)

2025-05-09

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: On review of the complaint and the memorandum in support of Plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order, the Court raises the propriety of joinder of the 12 Defendants. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)(2) governs permissive joinder of defendants. It permits defendants to be joined in a single action if two conditions are met: (1) "any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions"; and (2) "any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action." Fed. R. Civ. P 20(a)(2); see UWM Student Ass'n v. Lovell, 888 F.3d 854, 863 (7th Cir. 2018). As other courts within this District have held, "it is appropriate for federal courts to raise improper joinder on their own, especially when the sheer number of defendants waves a joinder red flag and ups the chances that the plaintiff should be paying separate filing fees for separate cases. The need for sua sponte evaluation also intensifies when it would take enormous time and effort to check the evidencesuch as screenshots of dozens and dozens of defendants' online storesamassed into a single case absent actual connections between the defendants." Estee Lauder Cosms. Ltd. v. Partnerships & Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 334 F.R.D. 182, 186 (N.D. Ill. 2020) (citing George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007)); see also, e.g., Andrew Blair Bailie v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule "A," 24-cv-02150 Dkt. 28 (Apr. 24, 2024). ). Here, Plaintiff's allegations purporting to establish joinder are merely conclusory. For example, Plaintiff alleges that "Defendants concurrently employ and benefit from similar advertising and marketing strategies." R. 1, para. 24. Similar to another court in this District, this Court's "experience has shown that, while some individual defendants may operate several online stores, and while some individual defendants may coordinate with other defendants before or after the filing of the infringement action, rarely, if ever, have all defendants named in a Schedule A case worked together." Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. v. Partnerships and Unincorporated Associations Identified on Schedule A, 24-cv-09401 Dkt. 23 (Oct. 18, 2024). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)(3) requires that, "factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery." Accordingly, the Court directs Plaintiff to file, on or before 7/7/25, a supplemental memorandum addressing the propriety of joinder, including, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(c)((3), showing cause why the allegation that "defendants are working in active concert" does not violate Rule 11(b)(3). Instead of the supplemental memorandum, by the same deadline, Plaintiff may file an amended complaint with (a) one defendant or (b) a subset of the defendants along with a memorandum explaining why joinder of those defendants is proper. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 06/24/2025)

2025-06-24

1

View

SUPPLEMENT to set deadlines,,,,,,,,,,,,, 17 Plaintiff's Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Propriety of Joinder (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 06/30/2025)

2025-06-30

1

View

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendant Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang by Wei Wang (Wang, Wei) (Entered: 07/01/2025)

2025-07-01

1

View

MOTION by Attorney Wei Wang to withdraw as attorney for Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang. (Wang, Wei) (Entered: 07/01/2025)

2025-07-01

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion, the Court grants the motion to withdraw as counsel 20 . Attorney Wei Wang is withdrawn as counsel for Defendant Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 07/07/2025)

2025-07-07

1

View

MOTION by Attorney Lance Liu to withdraw as attorney for GSJ-US, MEIXIANCI, SELFILA Technology, Wonderful LIFE, weiying-US. New address information: No longer parties to this case (Liu, Lance) (Entered: 07/07/2025)

2025-07-07

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion, the Court grants attorney Lance Liu's motion to withdraw as attorney for GSJ-US, MEIXIANCI, SELFILA Technology, Wonderful LIFE, weiying-US 22 . Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 07/08/2025)

2025-07-08

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: Plaintiff has filed a memorandum of law explaining why joinder of the 12 named defendants is proper 18 . Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a)(2) governs permissive joinder of defendants. It permits defendants to be joined in a single action if two conditions are met: (1) "any right to relief is asserted against them jointly, severally, or in the alternative with respect to or arising out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions"; and (2) "any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action." Fed. R. Civ. P 20(a)(2); see UWM Student Ass'n v. Lovell, 888 F.3d 854, 863 (7th Cir. 2018). Plaintiff argues that the first condition is met because each product "share[s] the following features: identical product housing with multi-LED panels; identical integrated circuits implementing pulse-width modulation; nearly identical circuitry layout and component placements; identical packaging featuring the same layout and design elements; and consistent branding or SKU prefixing" R. 18 at 3-4 (cleaned up). As to the second factor, Plaintiff argues that the claims against all defendants raise common questions of law, including "whether the PWM-controlled lights infringe one or more claims of the '293 Patent; whether the technical operation of the accused products satisfies the claim limitations; whether Defendants were aware of or willfully blind to the patent rights; whether indirect infringers materially contributed to infringement; [and] the calculation of damages based on overlapping sales and listings." R. 18 at 4-5 (cleaned up). Plaintiff adequately demonstrates that both conditions are met, and therefore, the Court concludes that joinder is proper. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 08/13/2025)

2025-08-13

1

View

SEALED TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER: For the reasons stated in the motions, the Court grants Plaintiff's motion for a temporary restraining order 14, its motion to file certain documents under seal 5, and its motion to serve defendants by alternate means 16 . Provided that Plaintiff provides the security described in paragraph 10 of the temporary restraining order, the temporary restraining order shall become effective on August 15, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. and shall expire in fourteen (14) days from the effective date. The Court denies Plaintiff's ex parte motion for a hearing 24 as moot. Signed by the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama on 8/13/2025. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Main Document 26 replaced on 8/13/2025) (jcm, ). (Entered: 08/13/2025)

2025-08-13

1

View

SURETY BOND in the amount of $12,000.00 posted by Pathway IP LLC (Document not scanned). (bi,) (Entered: 08/20/2025)

2025-08-15

1

View

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Pathway IP LLC regarding Defendant No. 1 ganzhoushijiuhongmaoyiyouxiangongsi (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 08/26/2025)

2025-08-26

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion 28, the Court grants Plaintiff's ex parte motion to extend the temporary restraining order. The temporary restraining order is extended to 9/12/2025. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 08/26/2025)

2025-08-26

1

View

MOTION by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC for preliminary injunction (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 09/09/2025)

2025-09-09

1

View

MEMORANDUM by Pathway IP LLC in support of motion for preliminary injunction 31 (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Nicholas S. Lee)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 09/09/2025)

2025-09-09

1

View

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: Before the Court is Plaintiff's motion for entry of a preliminary injunction 31 . The Court has taken the motion for a preliminary injunction under advisement and will consider the motion unopposed if no defendant appears and objects by or before 9/30/2025. If no objections are filed by that date, the Court will consider the motion unopposed by Defendants who have not yet appeared. Plaintiff is directed to file a status report on 10/1/2025 as to whether the preliminary injunction is opposed or not. Plaintiff must serve this minute order upon all remaining Defendants within one business day of its entry on the docket and must file proof of that service within two business days after service. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 09/10/2025)

2025-09-10

1

View

Default Judgment AND Entry of Default

2025-10-03

1

View

Miscellaneous Relief

2025-10-08

1

View

Default Judgment AND Order on Motion for Default Judgment AND Order on Motion for Entry of Default AND ~Util - Terminate Civil Case

2025-10-09

1

View

Judgment - AO450

2025-10-09

1

View

Overview

Parties

Defendant

Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang Follow

Represented By

SELFILA Technology Follow

Represented By

Wonderful LIFE Follow

Represented By

MEIXIANCI Follow

Represented By

weiying-US Follow

Represented By

GSJ-US Follow

Represented By

The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associates Identified on Schedule A Follow

Represented By

Plaintiff

Pathway IP LLC Follow

Represented By

Court & Judges

Patents Involved

Docket Entries

CIVIL Cover Sheet (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

Notice of Claims by Pathway IP LLC (Redacted) (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

Notice of Affiliates Pursuant to LR 3.2 by Pathway IP LLC (Redacted) (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

MOTION by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC for leave to file Certain Documents Under Seal (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Sealed Complaint and Exhibits (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit Schedule A, # 2 Exhibit 1, # 3 Exhibit 3, # 4 Exhibit 4, # 5 Exhibit 5, # 6 Exhibit 6)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Notice of Claims (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

SEALED DOCUMENT by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC Notification of Affiliates (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC by Nicholas S. Lee (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC by Sameeul Haque (Haque, Sameeul) (Entered: 05/04/2025)

EMAILED Patent report to Patent Trademark Office, Alexandria VA (jxm, ) (Entered: 05/05/2025)

CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Young B. Kim. Case assignment: Random assignment. (Civil Category 1). (bi, )

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendants GSJ-US, weiying-US, MEIXIANCI, Wonderful LIFE, SELFILA Technology by Lance Y. Liu (Liu, Lance) (Entered: 05/09/2025)

SUPPLEMENT to set deadlines,,,,,,,,,,,,, 17 Plaintiff's Supplemental Memorandum in Support of Propriety of Joinder (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 06/30/2025)

ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendant Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang by Wei Wang (Wang, Wei) (Entered: 07/01/2025)

MOTION by Attorney Wei Wang to withdraw as attorney for Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang. (Wang, Wei) (Entered: 07/01/2025)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion, the Court grants the motion to withdraw as counsel 20 . Attorney Wei Wang is withdrawn as counsel for Defendant Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 07/07/2025)

MOTION by Attorney Lance Liu to withdraw as attorney for GSJ-US, MEIXIANCI, SELFILA Technology, Wonderful LIFE, weiying-US. New address information: No longer parties to this case (Liu, Lance) (Entered: 07/07/2025)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion, the Court grants attorney Lance Liu's motion to withdraw as attorney for GSJ-US, MEIXIANCI, SELFILA Technology, Wonderful LIFE, weiying-US 22 . Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 07/08/2025)

SURETY BOND in the amount of $12,000.00 posted by Pathway IP LLC (Document not scanned). (bi,) (Entered: 08/20/2025)

NOTICE of Voluntary Dismissal by Pathway IP LLC regarding Defendant No. 1 ganzhoushijiuhongmaoyiyouxiangongsi (Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 08/26/2025)

MINUTE entry before the Honorable Franklin U. Valderrama: For the reasons stated in the motion 28, the Court grants Plaintiff's ex parte motion to extend the temporary restraining order. The temporary restraining order is extended to 9/12/2025. Mailed notice. (jcm) (Entered: 08/26/2025)

MOTION by Plaintiff Pathway IP LLC for preliminary injunction (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 09/09/2025)

MEMORANDUM by Pathway IP LLC in support of motion for preliminary injunction 31 (Attachments: # 1 Declaration Nicholas S. Lee)(Lee, Nicholas) (Entered: 09/09/2025)

Default Judgment AND Entry of Default

Miscellaneous Relief

Default Judgment AND Order on Motion for Default Judgment AND Order on Motion for Entry of Default AND ~Util - Terminate Civil Case

Judgment - AO450

Track Case Updates

Chengdu Shiqiaoshang Technology Co., Ltd., d/b/a ShiQiaoShang

SELFILA Technology

Wonderful LIFE

MEIXIANCI

weiying-US

GSJ-US

The Individuals, Corporations, Limited Liability Companies, Partnerships, and Unincorporated Associates Identified on Schedule A

Pathway IP LLC