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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.

ZTE CORPORATION, ZTE (USA) 

INC., AND ZTE (TX), INC. 

Defendants.

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CIVIL ACTION NO. 6:20-cv-496-ADA

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

FIRST AMENDED 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 First Amended Complaint 

for Patent Infringement (“Complaint”) against Defendants ZTE Corporation, ZTE (USA), 

Inc. and ZTE (TX), Inc. (collectively “ZTE” or “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 Ave, Ste 6, Waco, TX 76701.

3. On information and belief, Defendant Zhongxing Telecommunications 

Equipment (abbreviated as “ZTE”) Corporation (“ZTE Corp.”) is a Chinese corporation that 

does business in Texas, directly or through intermediaries, with a principal place of business 

at ZTE Plaza, Keji Road South, Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Nanshan District, Shenzhen China.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 1 of 21
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4. On information and belief, Defendant ZTE (USA) Inc. is a New Jersey 

corporation that does business in Texas, directly or through intermediaries, with a principal 

place of business in business in Richardson, Texas.

5. On information and belief, Defendant ZTE (TX) Inc. is a Texas corporation 

that does business in Texas, directly or through intermediaries, with a principal place of 

business in business in Austin, Texas.

6. All of the Defendants operate under and identify with the trade name “ZTE.” 

Each of the Defendants may be referred to individually as a “ZTE Defendant” and, 

collectively, Defendants may be referred to below as “ZTE” or as the “ZTE Defendants.”

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

7. This is an action for patent infringement which arises under the Patent Laws 

of the United States, in particular, 35 U.S.C. §§271, 281, 284, and 285.

8. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this action under 28 

U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).

9. This Court has specific and general personal jurisdiction over each ZTE

Defendant pursuant to due process and/or the Texas Long Arm Statute, because each ZTE

Defendant has committed acts giving rise to this action within Texas and within this judicial 

district. The Court’s exercise of jurisdiction over each ZTE Defendant would not offend 

traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice because ZTE has established minimum 

contacts with the forum. For example, on information and belief, ZTE Defendants have 

committed acts of infringement in this judicial district, by among other things, selling and 

offering for sale products that infringe the asserted patent, directly or through intermediaries,

as alleged herein.

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10. Jurisdiction is also proper because ZTE Defendants place goods and/or services, 

including Accused Products, into the stream of commerce knowing they will end up in Texas. 

Indeed, ZTE Defendants take actions purposefully directed toward Texas to place goods and/or 

services into the stream of commerce here. 

11. On information and belief, ZTE Corp. sells and/or licenses Accused Products 

directly to a company headquartered in Richardson, Texas—ZTE (USA) Inc.—and ships them 

to that company’s headquarters in Richardson, Texas.

12. On Information and belief, ZTE Corp. targets other Texas customers through ZTE 

(USA) Inc.’s website and ships Accused Products to customers in Texas. 

13. ZTE Corp. specifically targets Accused Products at individuals and companies in 

Texas at least by selling and/or licensing Accused Products directly to ZTE (USA) Inc., a 

consumer and distributor of Accused Products manufactured by ZTE Corp., and by shipping 

Accused Products to ZTE (USA) Inc. for distribution in Texas. 

14. On information and belief, ZTE Corp. assists ZTE (USA) Inc. with 

troubleshooting or other technical support of ZTE Corp. equipment sold in the United States, 

including Texas. 

15. Both ZTE Corp. and ZTE (USA) Inc. have issued releases from Richardson, 

Texas marketing ZTE products, including Accused Products. These releases are hosted on ZTE 

Corp.’s website and include a “ZTE Corporation” copyright.

16. On November 20, 2019, ZTE (USA) Inc. issued a release from “RICHARDSON, 

Texas” advertising Black Friday Deals on several products, including Blade 10 and Axon 10 

Pro. The release explains that “ZTE USA” is “headquartered in Richardson, Texas,” provides 

information to directly contact ZTE (USA) Inc. and indicates that “shoppers can enjoy free 

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shipping and easy 30 day returns for ZTE products at www.zteusa.com. The release is hosted 

on ZTE Corp.’s website and includes a “ZTE Corporation” copyright. 

17. On October 15, 2019, ZTE Corp. issued a release from “RICHARDSON, Texas” 

announcing that Blade Vantage 2 would be available in “Verizon stores across the U.S.” and 

would “operate on Verizon’s national network.” 

18. On information and belief, most imports from ZTE Corp. to the United States are 

shipments to ZTE (USA) Inc. 

19. On information and belief, most imports received by ZTE (USA) Inc. are imports 

from ZTE Corp. 

20. On information and belief, ZTE Corp. regularly ships goods to ZTE (USA) Inc.’s 

headquarters at 2425 N Central Expressway in Richardson, Texas. 

21. On information and belief, ZTE Corp. regularly ships goods to other addresses in 

Texas.

22. Venue in the Western District of Texas is proper pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

§§1391 and/or 1400(b). The ZTE Defendants have committed acts of infringement and have 

places of businesses in this District and/or are foreign entities for purpose of §1391. As nonlimiting examples, ZTE (TX) has maintained a place of business at 7000 N MO-PAC 

EXPRESSWAY 200 AUSTIN, TX 7873; and, ZTE (USA) has maintained a place of 

business at 6500 River Place Blvd., Austin, TX 78730. ZTE Corp publication also describes 

a “research-and-development center in Austin, Texas.”1

1 https://res-www.zte.com.cn/mediares/magazine/publication/tech_en/pdf/201009.pdf

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COUNT ONE - INFRINGEMENT OF 

U.S. PATENT NO. 7,742,534

23. Brazos re-alleges and incorporates by reference the preceding paragraphs 

of this Complaint.

24. On June 22, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office duly and 

legally issued U.S. Patent No. 7,742,534 (“the ’534 Patent”), entitled “METHOD FOR 

TRANSMITTING USER DATA IN A MULTI-CARRIERR RADIO 

COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND CORRESPONDING RECEIVER.” A true and 

correct copy of the ’534 Patent is attached as Exhibit A to this Complaint.

25. Brazos is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and to the ’534 Patent, 

including the right to assert all causes of action arising under the ’534 Patent and the right 

to any remedies for the infringement of the ’534 Patent.

26. ZTE makes, uses, sells, offers for sale, imports, and/or distributes in the 

United States, including within this judicial district, products such as, but not limited to ZTE 

products supporting LTE including but not limited to ZTE network elements such as Base 

Stations including but not limited ZXSDR BS8700, BS8800 and BS8906 and ZTE LTE 

smartphones (e.g. ZTE Blade 10, ZTE Axon 10 Pro, etc.) (collectively, the “Accused 

Products”). 

27. The Accused Products include ZTE network elements such as Base Stations 

including but not limited ZXSDR BS8700, BS8800 and BS8906 and ZTE LTE smartphones 

(e.g. ZTE Blade 10, ZTE Axon 10 Pro, etc.).

28. ZTE has deployed commercial LTE networks and built LTE trial networks 

for telecom operators in North America. 

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https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/news/350962.html

29. ZTE has opened an LTE testing laboratory in Richardson, Texas. 

http://www.ztedeutschland.de/pub/endata/magazine/ztetechnologies/2009year/no11/200912/P0200912224626

32602444.pdf

30. ZTE provides devices and products (e.g., base stations, etc.) with Long Term 

Evolution (LTE) capabilities. Some of these devices supporting LTE.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 6 of 21
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https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/magazine/zte-technologies/2010/11/en_515/194549.

 

31. ZTE provides LTE modules and mobile devices.

https://www.zteusa.com/products/m2m/zte-me3630,

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https://www.zteusa.com/products/all-phones/axon-10-pro.html.

32. In LTE, the downlink transmission scheme for the physical layer is based on 

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). Orthogonal 

Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is a multi-carrier transmission technique in which 

orthogonally spaced sub-carriers are used to transmit the information between transmitter (i.e., 

base station) and receiver (i.e., a mobile device or user equipment). 

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136300_136399/136300/15.08.00_60/ts_136300v150800p.

pdf.

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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136201/15.02.00_60/ts_136201v150200p.

pdf.

33. In LTE networks, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) reports are used to indicate 

the channel quality information. In CQI reporting, UE (i.e., receiver) measures the quality 

level of sub-carriers (i.e., determining at the receiver quality levels for sub-carriers) and 

reports it to eNodeB (i.e., transmitter). Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) reporting can be either 

periodic or aperiodic. In aperiodic CQI reporting, the eNodeB schedules the report on Physical 

downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), and UE sends the CQI report on Physical Uplink Shared 

Channel (PUSCH). 

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136300_136399/136300/15.08.00_60/ts_136300v150800p.

pdf.

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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800

p.pdf.

34. In LTE networks, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) (i.e., quality levels) 

reports are used to indicate the channel quality information. In CQI reporting, UE measures 

the quality level of sub-carriers and reports it to eNB (i.e., sending said quality levels from 

said receiver to said transmitter). Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) reporting can be either 

periodic or aperiodic. In aperiodic CQI reporting, the eNodeB schedules the report on 

PDCCH, and UE sends the CQI report on PUSCH. 

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136300_136399/136300/15.08.00_60/ts_136300v150800p.

pdf.

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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800

p.pdf.

35. In aperiodic CQI reporting, the eNodeB triggers the CQI report on PDCCH, 

and UE sends the CQI report on PUSCH. The triggering of the CQI report on PDCCH is 

carried out by using the Channel State Information (CSI) request bit(s) available in the 

Downlink control information (DCI) format. 

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 11 of 21
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pdf.

36. The UE is triggered and configured to report the CQI using one of the CSI 

reporting modes. In UE-selected (sub-band CQI) CSI reporting mode, UE selects the set of M 

preferred sub-bands of size k within the set of sub-bands S with high CQI (i.e., selecting, based 

on said quality levels, a set of sub-carriers on which said user data are to be transmitted). The 

k and M values are a function of system bandwidth.

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

pdf.

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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800

p.pdf.

37. In LTE networks, Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) reports are used to indicate 

the channel quality information. In CQI reporting, UE measures the quality level of subcarriers and reports it to eNodeB. The CQI reports can be either periodic or aperiodic.

38. In aperiodic CQI reporting, the eNB triggers the CQI report on PDCCH, and 

UE sends the CQI report on PUSCH. The triggering of the CQI report on PDCCH is carried 

out by using the Channel State Information (CSI) request bit(s) available in the DCI format. 

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 13 of 21
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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

pdf.

39. The UE is triggered and configured to report the CQI using one of the CSI 

reporting modes (i.e., indication related to a threshold). In UE-selected (sub-band CQI) CSI 

reporting mode, UE selects the set of M preferred sub-bands of size k within the set of subbands S with high CQI. The k and M values are a function of system bandwidth.

40. The eNodeB indicates UE to select ‘M’ subcarriers with the CSI reporting 

modes (i.e., With reference to subject patent, CSI reporting modes, Mode 2-0, and Mode 2-2 

is the indication from the transmitter to select ‘M’ subcarriers). 

41. Based on the CSI reporting mode (i.e., indication), UE selects the M preferred 

sub-bands with high CQI (i.e., receiver deduces set of sub-carriers which will be used for 

transmission of said user data).

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 14 of 21
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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

pdf.

 

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 15 of 21
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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800

p.pdf.

42. In aperiodic CQI reporting, the eNodeB triggers the CQI report on PDCCH, 

and UE sends the CQI report on PUSCH. The triggering of the CQI report on PDCCH is 

carried out by using the Channel State Information (CSI) request bit(s) available in the DCI 

format. 

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

pdf.

43. The UE is triggered and configured to report the CQI using one of the CSI 

reporting modes (i.e., indication related to a threshold). In UE-selected (sub-band CQI) CSI 

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 16 of 21
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reporting mode, UE selects the set of M preferred sub-bands of size k within the set of subbands S with high CQI. The k and M values are a function of system bandwidth.

44. The eNodeB indicates UE to select ‘M’ sub carriers with the CSI reporting 

modes (i.e., With reference to patent, CSI reporting modes, Mode 2-0, and Mode 2-2, shown 

in is the indication from the transmitter to select ‘M’ subcarriers). Based on the reporting mode 

(i.e., indication), UE selects the M preferred sub-bands with high CQI (i.e., receiver selects 

set of sub-carriers as a function of said indication related to a threshold and of said quality 

levels).

https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/15.08.00_60/ts_136213v150800p.

pdf.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 17 of 21
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https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/136200_136299/136213/10.05.00_60/ts_136213v100500

p.pdf

45. In view of preceding paragraphs, each and every element of at least claim 1 

of the ’534 Patent is found in the Accused Products.

46. ZTE has and continues to directly infringe at least one claim of the ’534

Patent, literally or under the doctrine of equivalents, by making, using, selling, offering for 

sale, importing, and/or distributing the Accused Products in the United States, including 

within this judicial district, without the authority of Brazos.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 18 of 21
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47. ZTE has received notice and actual or constructive knowledge of the ’534

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

48. Since at least the date of service of this Complaint, through its actions, ZTE

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

Products to infringe the ’534 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.zte.com.cn/global/about/news/350962.html

• https://www.zteusa.com/products/m2m/zte-me3630

• https://www.zteusa.com/products/all-phones/axon-10-pro.html

• https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/magazine/ztetechnologies/2010/11/en_515/194549

• http://www.ztedeutschland.de/pub/endata/magazine/ztetechnologies/2009year/no11/200912/P020

091222462632602444.pdf

49. Since at least the date of service of this Complaint, through its actions, ZTE

has contributed to the infringement of the ’534 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 ’534 Patent. The Accused Products are 

especially made or adapted for infringing the ’534 Patent and have no substantial noninfringing use. For example, in view of the preceding paragraphs, the Accused Products 

contain functionality which is material to at least one claim of the ’534 Patent.

JURY DEMAND

Brazos hereby demands a jury on all issues so triable.

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REQUEST FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, Brazos respectfully requests that the Court:

(A) Enter judgment that ZTE infringes one or more claims of the ’534 Patent 

literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents;

(B) Enter judgment that ZTE has induced infringement and continues to induce 

infringement of one or more claims of the ’534 Patent;

(C) Enter judgment that ZTE has contributed to and continues to contribute to 

the infringement of one or more claims of the ’534 Patent;

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

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

interest for the infringement by ZTE of the ’534 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.

Case 6:20-cv-00496-ADA Document 36 Filed 11/06/20 Page 20 of 21
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Dated: November 6, 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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