Posts Tagged: "infringement"

Rejection of proposal did not obviate requirement to disclose inventions to standard setting body

The Federal Circuit, however, found the district court’s enforceability finding to be unsupported by evidence. The rejection of Nokia’s proposal did not obviate Nokia’s requirement to disclose inventions that might be essential to the standard. Dr. Walker’s uncontroverted testimony explained that patent applications are to be disclosed at the time proposals are presented. “[A]n ETSI member’s duty to disclose a patent application on particular technology attaches at the time of the proposal and is not contingent on ETSI ultimately deciding to include that technology in an ETSI standard,” Bryson explained. Notwithstanding, the Federal Circuit elected to vacate this ruling rather than electing to reverse the district court because the existence of an implied waiver is an equitable defense.

Florida Restaurateurs Face Off in Trademark Suit Over Frenchy’s Name

On February 20th, Clearwater Beach, FL-based restaurateur Frenchy’s Corporate filed a suit alleging trademark infringement against the owners and operators of Frenchy’s Pizzeria & Tavern, located less than an hour’s drive away from Clearwater in Port Richey, FL. The suit, filed in the Middle District of Florida, aims to protect Frenchy’s Corporate trademark rights to the unregistered trademark “FRENCHY’STM” under…

Examining CAFC Application of §271(g)(1)’s ‘Materially Changed’ Exception to Infringement Liability

35 U.S.C. § 271(g) was enacted in 1988 as part of the Process Patents Amendments Act to address instances where would-be infringers were avoiding infringement liability by using a process, patented in the U.S., outside of the country and then importing the product of the patented process into the U.S. Eli Lilly and Co. v. American Cyanamid Co., 82 F.3d 1568, 1571 (Fed. Cir. 1996). Under Section 271(g), such activity constitutes infringement. 35 U.S.C. § 271(g). The statute, however, carves out two exceptions: (1) where the product of the patented process that was made outside the U.S. is “materially changed” prior to importation; and (2) where the product of the patented process becomes a “trivial and nonessential component” of the product being imported. This article examines Federal Circuit case law addressing the circumstances that will (and will not) give rise to application of the “material change” carve out to infringement liability under Section 271(g).

Litigants May Not Use a DJ to Obtain Piecemeal Adjudication

The Federal circuit heard the case on AbbVie Inc. v. MedImmune Ltd. AbbVie and MedImmune entered a development and licensing agreement in 1995. The agreement stemmed from a research collaboration between the parties, resulting in the antibody adalimumab, the active ingredient in Humira… In general, parties may not seek a declaratory judgment to litigate one issue in a dispute that must await adjudication of other issues for complete resolution of the dispute. In limited circumstances, courts may permit this type of action where litigation is pending that would resolve the remaining questions.

2017 Saw Fewest Patent Lawsuits Filed Since 2011

Q4 2017 saw a total of 981 patent infringement cases filed in district courts, the second-lowest total for any quarter in 2017 and the third-lowest total for any quarter dating to the third quarter of 2011. The 4,057 patent suits filed in district court through 2017 was the lowest total for an entire year since 2011… A week-by-week graph of patent filings shows that, while Eastern Texas saw a much greater share of patent filings than Delaware in the months leading up to the TC Heartland decision, Delaware filings have topped Eastern Texas filings in almost every week since the SCOTUS decision.