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Federal Circuit Reverses Infringement And Willfulness Determinations And Finds Damages Verdict Improperly Relies On Entire Market Value Rule
10/08/2024On October 2, 2024, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) issued a precedential opinion reversing-in-part decisions from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in Case No. 5:19-cv-06021-SRB, Judge Stephen R. Bough, denying defendant Weber’s motions for judgment as a matter of law and for a new trial. Provisur Technologies, Inc. v. Weber, Inc., __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. October 2, 2024). In its decision, the CAFC found that the district court had wrongly upheld a jury verdict finding infringement where the accused product could not readily be placed in an infringing configuration and finding willfulness based on testimony suggesting a failure to seek advice of counsel. The CAFC further found that the district court abused its discretion by upholding a flawed damages verdict.
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Federal Circuit Affirms Findings Of The International Trade Commission With Respect To Media Device Patent
02/13/2024
On January 19, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) issued an opinion affirming the final determination of the International Trade Commission (“ITC”), which found that: (i) intervenor Universal Electronics, Inc. (“Universal”) had ownership rights to assert the ’196 patent in the investigation, (ii) Universal satisfied the domestic industry requirement of 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (Section 337) and (iii) appellant Roku failed to establish the ’196 patent was obvious over prior art. -
Federal Circuit Rules That Defendants’ Abbreviated New Drug Applications Did Not Infringe Plaintiffs’ Drug Patents
12/19/2023
On December 7, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) issued an opinion affirming the decision of the District Court of Delaware, which found non-infringement by Lupin Ltd., Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Lupin”) and other defendants of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,278,096 and 9,125,910 (’096 and ’910 patents, respectively), and infringement by Lupin of claim 12 of U.S. Patent No. 9,101,626 (’626 patent). All three patents are owned by H Lundbeck A/S (“Lundbeck”).Category : Patent Infringement -
Federal Circuit Reverses $20M Patent Infringement Award
05/09/2023
On April 18, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) reversed a decision by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas holding that certain claims of three reissued U.S. patents were not invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 251. Cioffi v. Google LLC, No. 2018-1049 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 18, 2023). The CAFC panel (Reyna, Bryson, and Taranto) reviewed the district court’s decision de novo and reversed the district court, concluding that the asserted claims failed to satisfy the “original patent” requirement. -
Federal Circuit Affirms District Court Decision Striking Expert Report And Granting Summary Judgment Of Non-Infringement
12/13/2022
On November 30, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington striking portions of a plaintiff’s expert report and granting summary judgment of non-infringement to defendant. Treehouse Avatar LLC v. Valve Corp., No. 21-1171 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 30, 2022). The CAFC found that the district court did not abuse its discretion in its decision to strike portions of the report, nor did it err in its finding that plaintiff failed to rebut defendant’s evidence of non-infringement. -
Federal Circuit Finds District Court’s Element-By-Element Infringement Pleading Standard Overly Demanding
07/20/2021
On July 13, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded appellant Bot M8 LLC’s (“Bot M8”) appeal of several underlying orders related to the dismissal of its patent infringement action against Sony Corporation of America (“Sony”). Bot M8 LLC v. Sony Corporation of America, ___ F.3d ___ (Fed. Cir. July 13, 2021). The CAFC clarified that while a plaintiff need not plead infringement on an element-by-element basis, reciting claim elements and merely concluding that the accused products have those elements is insufficient. -
Plaintiff’s Refusal To Articulate A Hypothetical Claim Warrants Summary Judgment Of Noninfringement Under The Doctrine Of Equivalents
02/11/2021
On January 28, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (NDCA) issued an order granting summary judgment of noninfringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Fluidigm Corp. v. IONpath, Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-05639-WHA, Dkt. No. 210 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2021). The NDCA found that the patentee “abdicated” its burden under the doctrine of equivalents by refusing to engage in the hypothetical claim analysis required under defendant’s ensnarement defense.