Valve Wins Rothschild Patent Troll Lawsuit
Valve Wins Leigh Rothschild Lawsuit
Federal jury finds patent claims invalid and clears allegations against Valve in high-profile “patent troll” trial.
Highlights
- Washington jury invalidates Leigh Rothschild’s patent claims under Washington’s anti-patent-troll law.
- The Jury backed Valve’s breach of contract and Consumer Protection Act allegations against Rothschild and associated entities.
- The verdict may encourage tech firms to use anti-patent-troll laws as a legal defense for similar lawsuits.
Valve Corporation secured a decisive win in federal court on Feb 17, 2026, after a Washington jury determined that patent claims brought by Rothschild and Associated Entities were invalid and violated Washington state’s anti-patent-troll law. The verdict ends a multiyear legal confrontation, starting with Rothschild-associated Display Technologies (DT) suing Valve for patent infringement in 2022.
According to a minute entry filed on Feb 17, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington favored Valve in its July 2023 lawsuit against Leigh Rothschild and his associated companies. Valve’s lawsuit was a countermeasure against Rothschild's lawyers’ patent infringement claims.
A total of seven defendants were involved in Valve’s July 2023 lawsuit: Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems LLC, Patent Asset Management LLC, Display Technologies LLC, Samuel Meyler, Meyler Legal LLC, and Leigh Rothschild.
Legal Context of Valve Rothschild Lawsuit
The rights of the concerned patent, US8856221B2, are currently held by Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems (RBDS). In 2016, Valve was granted a "perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide license" for it and other patents in Rothschild's portfolio.
Judge Jamal Whitehead has also ruled that the defendants did not have "a just excuse for their absolute repudiation of their obligations" during the 2022 lawsuit against Valve. With this, they favored Valve's claims under Washington’s Patent Troll Prevention Act and Consumer Protection Act, and breach of contract allegations.
The jury also declared that Leigh Rothschild and all of his associated entities in the lawsuit have violated the Consumer Protection Acts and the Washington Patent Troll Prevention. PCGamer has noted that Valve is trying to direct the lawsuit towards Rothschild by claiming his associated companies are only his “alter egos.”
Valve did not immediately release a public statement after the win. Rothschild is reported to pay damages of up to $25K USD. Rothschild will also be providing injunctive relief to Valve, while declaring that the patent discussed in the lawsuit is invalid. Other technology firms facing similar lawsuits may now look to state anti-troll provisions as strategic defenses.
Author
Kamalikaa Biswas is a content writer at Outlook Respawn specializing in pop culture. She holds a Master's in English Literature from University of Delhi and leverages her media industry experience to deliver insightful content on the latest youth culture trends.
