Star Scientific Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Death of lower court victories can be a side effect of appeals, so perhaps the accused patent infringer in Star Scientific Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. shouldn't have inhaled their district court win. RJR, the accused infringer, obtained an order for summary judgment in the district court based on the inequitable conduct of patent holder Star Scientific. On appeal, the Federal Circuit made...
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Jang v. Boston Scientific
Savvy travelers in the land of patent litigation occasionally use the stipulated judgment short-cut to speedy appellate review of the district court's claim construction. In order to have a final, appealable judgment, litigants on this usually expedited route agree that the accused products would or would not infringe (as the case may be) in light of the district court's claim construction...
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Proveris Scientific Corporation v. InnovaSystems, Inc.
In Proveris Scientific Corporation v. InnovaSystems, Inc. , the defendant sought to invoke the so called "Safe Harbor" provisions of 35 U.S.C §271(e) in order to avoid liability for patent infringement. The patent at issue covered a system and apparatus that allowed those seeking FDA approval to provide necessary data demonstrating the efficiency and effectiveness of drug delivery for drugs...
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Muniauction, Inc. v. Thomson Corp.
Chopping block, that is, since the patent holder in Muniauction, Inc. v. Thomson Corp. had its verdict for willful patent infringement overturned and its $77 million damage award eliminated. Changes in controlling case law in the time between verdict and appeal contributed to the reversal; but bad expert testimony and a skimpy record on appeal also helped turn the district court's verdict into...
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Cat Tech LLC v. TubeMaster, Inc.
Look at that! Look at that! Prong Two just stepped in on the mat-or, perhaps more precisely, it showed up in the Federal Circuit's decision in Cat Tech LLC v. TubeMaster, Inc. Specifically, in Cat Tech, the Federal Circuit reviewed whether the changes the Supreme Court decision in MedImmune v. Genentech made to the first prong of the test for declaratory judgment jurisdiction in actions brought...
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Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc.
Life's a little less good for patent holder LG Electronics ("LGE") since the Supreme Court determined in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. that P.E.D - the patent exhaustion doctrine - terminally infected its patent infringement claims. The doctrine provides that a patent holder can only obtain one recovery for an infringement. Once that recovery has been made-by way of a...
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Acumed LLC v. Stryker Corp.
In Acumed LLC v. Stryker Corp , the Federal Circuit dishes up a tasty decision on claim preclusion that certainly shouldn't ruin a patent holder's appetite for further litigation. Acumed makes clear that a patent holder's claims against an infringer for multiple versions of a product do not need to be brought in a single serving unless the allegedly infringing devices are "essentially...
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LiteCubes, LLC v. Northern Light Products, Inc.
We'll give it to you neat. LiteCubes, LLC v. Northern Light Products, Inc . holds that section 271 of the patent statute does not contain that requirement for the federal courts' subject matter jurisdiction. Rather, section 271 states a necessary element of a claim for patent infringement. According to the Federal Circuit's top shelf opinion, a complaint which sufficiently pleads a cause...
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O2 Micro International, Ltd. v. Beyond Innovation Technology, Co., Ltd.
What's the amount of time necessary to separate a patent holder from an infringement verdict? In O2 Micro International, Ltd. v. Beyond Innovation Technology, Co., Ltd. , 32 micro seconds was enough - that is, when combined with district court errors regarding claim construction and equivalency. The Federal Circuit's call? The infringement verdict is vacated and the ball goes back to the district...
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Agrizap, Inc. v. Woodstream Corp.
Shocking? The Federal Circuit's opinion in Agrizap, Inc. v. Woodstream Corp. doesn't necessarily reach that amplitude. Yet the decision does contain some high-wattage lessons for patent holders, as well as for those seeking to short-circuit the letter (or spirit) of existing confidentiality agreements. Let's just say this one's a live-wire. Agrizap held patent rights to certain rodent...
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Erico International Corp. v. Vutec Corp. & Wiremaid Products and Doc’s Marketing Corporation
Consider this a heads up to patent holders thinking of taking a fly at preliminary injunctive relief. In Erico International Corp. v. Vutec Corp. & Wiremaid Products, a split panel of the Federal Circuit seemed to lower the standard of proof necessary to demonstrate invalidity at that procedural juncture. The result? Efforts intended as a warm-up act in the litigation may prematurely move the question...
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TiVo v. EchoStar
You might want to fast forward through more than the commercials on this one-all the best action is in the finale. In TiVo v. Echostar the Federal Circuit engages in page after page of dense claim construction only to deliver the heart of the opinion in a single, concluding paragraph. There, it upheld the jury's entire damage award of $73 million even though it had reversed the jury's determination...
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Innogenetics, N.V. v. Abbott Laboratories
Fair play counts in patent litigation as well as in the game of kings. In Innogenetics N.V. v. Abbott Laboratories , accused infringer Abbott played fast and loose with the trial court's procedural rules. It also took a cavalier approach to the substantive underpinnings of arguments advanced on appeal. The result? Both the district court and Federal Circuit cried foul-and Abbott saw exclusion of...
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SRI Int’l v. Internet Security Systems
In SRI Int'l v. Internet Security Systems , the district court heard what it needed to grant summary judgment of invalidity. The district court found that a paper that had been published more than a year prior to the patent application invalidated the patents under review. The Federal Circuit didn't chime in. Why? Because in this electronic world what is "publicly accessible" has...
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Hyperphrase Technologies LLC v. Google, Inc.
In Hyperphrase Technologies LLC v. Google, Inc., the Federal Circuit gave patent holder Hyperphrase what it needs to take one more trip on the patent litigation merry-go-round - but restrictions do apply. Opponent Google gets off the hook for most of its alleged acts of infringement and the opinion is nonprecedential. Nonetheless, the Federal Circuit's decision-wherein the district court's...
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