SIM IP, Erich Spangenberg's newest operation, has filed its first US suit, subsidiary Friendship IP Protection LLC (f/k/a SIM IP 6 LLC) accusing Meta Platforms (Instagram, WhatsApp) (7:25-cv-00577) of infringing three patents through the provision of online platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, and WhatsApp), as well as hardware and software products "utilized by Defendants to operate" such online platforms. The plaintiff pleads willfulness through citations during prosecution roughly a decade ago.
The patents (8,725,796; 9,438,650; 11,399,003) are broadly directed to operating "digital social networks". The patents belong to a family of 11 with issue dates ranging from May 2014 through September 2024. The family has earliest estimated priority in July 2011, with prosecution of at least one related application (filed in September 2024) continuing before the USPTO. They name F. David Serena as their inventor.
F. David Serena is described in the new complaint as "an experienced independent computer scientist who earned an AB in Physics from Harvard College in 1986 and a PhD in Computer Sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in 2002". Per Friendship IP, "Serena's inventions have transformed the field of social networking by replacing basic connection counts with sophisticated relationship dynamics, in turn revolutionizing users' personal and business capabilities". F. David Serena assigned the asserted family to Frank A. Serena in April 2022; this second Serena, to Friendship Link Protocol LLC, in May 2024; and Friendship Link Protocol to Friendship IP Protection (then, as SIM IP 6), last November.
RPX covered this transfer in May of this year, noting that Friendship Link Protocol is an entity formed in California in April 2024 and terminated there by last December. It provides a Carpinteria, California address that is associated with the business of Frank A. Serena, a general contractor in the state. F. David Serena of Camarillo, California, is with CogNueva, which advertises "consulting and research services in the fields of artificial intelligence, machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and data science" on its website, and is listed as an assignee for early patents in this family. Frank Anthony Serena signed for Friendship Link Protocol (as its sole member).
F. David identifies himself on social media as an "[e]xperienced Technologist with a demonstrated history of working in the research industry. Strong professional skilled in Technology Management, Enterprise Software, Enterprise Architecture, Entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital". He lists a position as "Innovation" with CogNueva since 2010, after a nearly 20-year stint as "Technologist" with a "US Government Org", there involved in "Databases and Artificial Intelligence (AI)". He apparently received an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in physics and a PhD in computer science from University of California, Santa Barbara (in 2002).
Sauvegarder Investment Group, Inc. (d/b/a SIM IP) is an entity cofounded in Delaware in March 2024 by CEO Spangenberg and CFO David Kutcher. However, on March 18, 2025, Spangenberg and Kutcher, together with Brian Berman (identified elsewhere as a director of business development with SIM IP), as directors, converted that Delaware entity into a Texas one. On April 7, 2025, Spangenberg, with Richard Colton and Martin Mellish (chairman of Aspen Advisory Services, a private investment firm), converted Spectral IP, Inc. (formed in Delaware on March 7, 2024) to a Texas entity as well.
This move was followed by rapid shift to Texas for this new operation, covered at "SIM IP's Moves to Texas Accelerate" (October 2025). Deeper coverage of Spangenberg's return to patent monetization, after years as the head of IP Navigation Group, LLC (d/b/a IPNav), an early prolific monetization operation in the US, followed by a period of other pursuits, is provided at "New Spangenberg Vehicle Appears to Have Multiple Patent Acquisitions in the Works" (February 2025). The new West Texas complaint against Meta confirms that, despite press releases touting a focus in Europe, this shift to Texas presaged litigation in the US as well. The effort has drawn high-profile investors; see "Prominent Figure Invests in Second Patent Monetization Entity" (August 2025).
In addition to the entities covered in the above articles, SIM IP has continued to form new Texas LLCs. It created SIM IP 7 LLC and SIM IP 8 LLC (with 1-6 entities already in existence) on October 28, 2025 as well as SIM Copyright Protection LLC in early November.
The Western District of Texas does not impose heightened disclosure on litigants. Friendship IP has merely disclosed SIM IP as its corporate parent, as well as that no publicly held entity owns ten percent or more interest in it. Susman Godfrey L.L.P. represents the plaintiff. The case has been assigned to District Judge David Counts. 12/18, Western District of Texas.
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