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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

WACO DIVISION

WSOU INVESTMENTS, LLC d/b/a 

BRAZOS LICENSING AND 

DEVELOPMENT,

Plaintiff,

v.

DELL TECHNOLOGIES INC., DELL 

INC., EMC CORPORATION, AND 

VMWARE, INC.

Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:20-cv-481

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED 

ORIGINAL COMPLAINT FOR PATENT INFRINGEMENT

Plaintiff WSOU Investments, LLC d/b/a Brazos Licensing and Development (“Brazos” or 

“Plaintiff”), by and through its attorneys, files this Complaint for Patent Infringement against Dell 

Technologies Inc., Dell Inc., EMC Corporation, and VMWare, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) 

and alleges:

NATURE OF THE ACTION

1. This is a civil action for patent infringement arising under the Patent Laws of the

United States, 35 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq., including §§ 271, 281, 284, and 285.

THE PARTIES

2. Brazos is a limited liability corporation organized and existing under the laws of

Delaware, with its principal place of business at 605 Austin Avenue, Suite 6, Waco, Texas 76701.

3. On information and belief, defendant Dell Technologies Inc. (“Dell”) is a Delaware

corporation with a principal place of business at One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas 78682.

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4. On information and belief, defendant Dell Inc. is a Delaware corporation with a 

principal place of business at One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas 78682. Dell Inc. is wholly owned 

by its corporate parent, Dell.

5. On information and belief, defendant EMC Corporation (“EMC”) is a 

Massachusetts corporation with a principal place of business at One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas 

78682. EMC Corporation is wholly owned by its corporate parent, Dell Technologies Inc.

6. Upon information and belief, VMware, Inc. (“VMWare”) is a Delaware corporation 

with two established places of business in this District, including two in Austin, Texas with over 

700 employees. 

7. Upon information and belief, VMWare was acquired by EMC in 2004 and 

conducted an initial public offering of Class A common stock in August 2007. On or around 

September 2016, Dell acquired by EMC. As a result, EMC became a wholly-owned subsidiary of 

Dell, and VMWare became an indirectly-held, majority-owned subsidiary of Dell. Under the rules 

of the New York Stock Exchange, VMWare is a controlled company. As of January 31, 2020, Dell 

controlled approximately 80.9% of VMWare’s outstanding common stock, including 31 million 

shares of its Class A common stock and all of it Class B common stock.

COUNT ONE - INFRINGEMENT OF 

U.S. PATENT NO. 9,164,800

8. Brazos re-alleges and incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs of this 

Complaint.

9. On October 20, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office duly and 

legally issued U.S. Patent No. 9,164,800 (“the ‘800 Patent”), entitled “Optimizing Latencies in 

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and/or distributing the Accused Products in the United States, including within this judicial district, 

without the authority of Brazos.

24. Defendants have received notice and actual or constructive knowledge of the ‘800

Patent since at least the date of service of this Complaint.

25. Since at least the date of service of this Complaint, through its actions, Defendants

have actively induced product makers, distributors, retailers, and/or end users of the Accused 

Products to infringe the ‘800 Patent throughout the United States, including within this judicial 

district, by, among other things, advertising and promoting the use of the Accused Products in 

various websites, including providing and disseminating product descriptions, operating manuals, 

and other instructions on how to implement and configure the Accused Products. Examples of 

such advertising, promoting, and/or instructing include the documents at:

• https://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/15/solutions/vmware-vcloud

• https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/power/ps3q07-20070562-hanson.pdf

• https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/solutions/vmware/servers-for-vmware.htm

• https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/vectors/dell_and_vmware_drs_ha_solutions.pd

f

• https://www.dell.com/support/article/en-uk/sln314727/dell-s-customization-of-vmwareesxi-and-its-advantages?lang=en

• https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/povw/vmware-vsphere

• https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/index.html

• https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/products/vspher

e/vmware-whats-new-in-vsphere-whitepaper.pdf

• https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-67-

resource-management-guide.pdf

• https://www.vmware.com/in/products/vsphere/drs-dpm.html

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• https://blogs.vmware.com/performance/2018/11/sdrs-performance-vsphere67.html

• https://www.vmware.com/pdf/vmotion datasheet.pdf

• https://vspherecentral.vmware.com/t/vsphere-resources-and-availability/drs-decisionengine/

26. Since at least the date of service of this Complaint, through its actions, Defendants

have contributed to the infringement of the ‘800 Patent by having others sell, offer for sale, or use 

the Accused Products throughout the United States, including within this judicial district, with

knowledge that the Accused Products infringe the ‘800 Patent. The Accused Products are 

especially made or adapted for infringing the ‘800 Patent and have no substantial non-infringing 

use. For example, in view of the preceding paragraphs, the Accused Products contain functionality 

which is material to at least one claim of the ‘800 Patent.

JURY DEMAND

Brazos hereby demands a jury on all issues so triable.

REQUEST FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Brazos respectfully requests that the Court:

(A) Enter judgment that Defendants infringe one or more claims of the ‘800 Patent

literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents;

(B) Enter judgment that Defendants have induced infringement and continue to induce 

infringement of one or more claims of the ‘800 Patent;

(C) Enter judgment that Defendants have contributed to and continue to contribute to 

the infringement of one or more claims of the ‘800 Patent;

(D) Award Brazos damages, to be paid by Defendants in an amount adequate to 

compensate Brazos for such damages, together with pre-judgment and post-judgment interest for 

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the infringement by Defendants of the ‘800 Patent through the date such judgment is entered in 

accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 284, and increase such award by up to three times the amount found 

or assessed in accordance with 35 U.S.C. § 284;

(E) Declare this case exceptional pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285; and

(F) Award Brazos its costs, disbursements, attorneys’ fees, and such further and

additional relief as is deemed appropriate by this Court.

Dated: June 2, 2020 Respectfully submitted,

/s/ James L. Etheridge

James L. Etheridge

Texas State Bar No. 24059147 

Ryan S. Loveless

Texas State Bar No. 24036997 

Travis L. Richins

Texas State Bar No. 24061296

ETHERIDGE LAW GROUP, PLLC

2600 E. Southlake Blvd., Suite 120 / 324

Southlake, Texas 76092

Telephone: (817) 470-7249

Facsimile: (817) 887-5950

Jim@EtheridgeLaw.com

Ryan@EtheridgeLaw.com

Travis@EtheridgeLaw.com

COUNSEL FOR PLAINTIFF

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