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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-494

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 

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 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.

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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. 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 non-limiting 

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 Corporation also describes a “research-and-development center 

in Austin, Texas.”1

COUNT ONE - INFRINGEMENT OF 

U.S. PATENT NO. 9,185,036

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

Complaint.

12. On November 10, 2015, the United States Patent and Trademark Office duly and 

legally issued U.S. Patent No. 9,185,036 (“the ’036 Patent”), entitled “METHOD AND 

APPARATUS FOR FLOW CONTROL OF DATA IN A NETWORK.” A true and correct copy 

of the ’036 Patent is attached as Exhibit A to this Complaint.

13. Brazos is the owner of all rights, title, and interest in and to the ’036 Patent, 

including the right to assert all causes of action arising under the ’036 Patent and the right to any 

remedies for the infringement of the ’036 Patent.

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

States, networking products including routing switches supporting the Quantized Congestion 

Notification (QCN) protocol (collectively, the “Accused Products”). 

1

https://res-www.zte.com.cn/mediares/magazine/publication/tech en/pdf/201009.pdf

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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/products/bearer/data communication/ethernet swit

ch/5960-EN

• https://www.zte.com.cn/global/products/bearer/data_communication/ethernet_swit

ch/5960-H-EN

• https://www.asit.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/zte ZXR10 5960 serie.pdf

• https://sdnfv.zte.com.cn/upload_files/440ed336-3d3f-11e9-abd7-

744aa4020e29.pdf

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

contributed to the infringement of the ’036 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 ’036 Patent. The Accused Products are 

especially made or adapted for infringing the ’036 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 ’036 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 ZTE infringes one or more claims of the ’036 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 ’036 Patent;

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

infringement of one or more claims of the ’036 Patent;

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(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 ’036 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 3, 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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