Tagged: Patent Infringement
In Norman IP Holdings, LLC v. Lexmark Int’l, Inc., a recent Eastern District of Texas decision, Chief District Judge Leonard Davis provided guidance on the application of Fed. R. Civ. P. 20 (“Rule 20”) joinder and Fed. R. Civ. P. 42 (“Rule 42”) consolidation in patent infringement cases post-enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”). Norman IP brought suit against Lexmark and others on September 15, 2011, one day before the AIA was signed into law. Norman IP later added an additional 23 defendants. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss for improper joinder or to sever, and Norman IP alternatively requested that any severed cases be consolidated under Rule 42. The Court granted defendants’ motion to sever and issued an order consolidating the cases for pretrial issues excluding venue.
In WM. Wrigley Jr. v. Cadbury Adams USA, a recent Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision related to chewing gum patents, Wrigley brought suit against Cadbury for infringement of its U.S. Patent Number 6,627,233 (“the ‘233 patent”) claiming a chewing gum including a combination of menthol and a physiological cooling agent, WS-23. Cadbury counterclaimed against Wrigley for infringement of Cadbury’s U.S. Patent Number 5,009,893 (“the ‘893 patent”) claiming a chewing gum including menthol and a similar cooling agent entitled WS-3.
As the summer rolls along, IP practitioners still await the Federal Circuit’s decisions in the en banc rehearings of Akamai Technologies, Inc. v. Limelight Networks, Inc., 629 F.3d 1311 (Fed. Cir. 2010) and McKesson Techs. Inc. v. Epic Sys. Corp., 98 U.S.P.Q.2d 1281 (Fed. Cir. 2011), which will address liability among multiple step performers accused of patent infringement.
Gibbons P.C. is again proud to announce a two-day program for Pharmaceutical Management at the Rutgers University Blanche and Irwin Lerner Center for Pharmaceutical Studies in Newark, NJ. The program, which is open to the public, includes in-depth presentations relating to topics including intellectual property, regulatory, financial and marketing issues relating to the pharmaceutical industry, as well as drug development and the role of biotechnology in pharmaceutical development.
Last week, in Bard Peripheral Vascular, Inc. v. W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc., the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion concerning the willful infringement standard articulated in In re Seagate Technology, LLC (“Seagate”). After affirming the United States District Court for the District of Arizona, appellant Gore filed a petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc, challenging the District Court’s willfulness analysis. The Federal Circuit granted Gore’s petition for rehearing en banc for the sole purpose of determining the standard of review applicable to willful infringement.
Under the joint auspices of the US Patent and Trademark Office the National Institute of Standards and Technology/Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the IP Awareness Assessment is now in the beta stage and available for businesses and inventors to assess their intellectual property awareness. Dubbed “A business and inventor’s IP education tool,” this web-based offering is designed to assess IP knowledge and provide personalized training resources for businesses and inventors.
In Merial Ltd. v. Cipla Ltd., the Federal Circuit recently reviewed an appeal from the Middle District of Georgia that found defendant Cipla (an Indian company) in contempt for violating an earlier injunction and finding co-defendant Velcera in contempt for acting in concert with Cipla to violate that injunction. The case arose from Cipla’s alleged infringement of Merial’s patents directed to flea and tick protection compositions, and Cipla’s underlying challenges to the District Court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over it.
The Supreme Court on Monday denied Research & Diagnostics Systems Inc.’s petition for a writ of certiorari to consider the degree of deference that should be afforded administrative decisions of the PTO on appeal to Federal District Court when new evidence is presented. Streck Inc. sued R&D Systems, a blood test technology company, for patent infringement in Federal District Court. A Nebraska jury held R&D Systems liable for infringement following a finding that it had failed to establish a claim of priority over the disputed patents. In a parallel interference proceeding, the PTO awarded priority to R&D Systems. Streck appealed the PTO ruling in District Court under 35 U.S.C. § 146, where a patent holder may appeal a PTO determination concerning priority made pursuant to an interference proceeding.
The Federal Circuit recently demonstrated how active the Court is, and will continue to be. After having ruled in Zoltek III that the United States did not waive immunity from suit except for acts that would constitute direct infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a), the Court voted sua sponte to reconsider the question en banc.
As President-Elect of the New Jersey Intellectual Property Law Association (NJIPLA), I am happy to announce that the NJIPLA will again host its well-received and well-attended “Annual Patent Litigation” seminar on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at the Woodbridge Hilton. This seminar is a half-day program starting at 11:45 am, and includes a meet and greet lunch. CLE credits for NJ (5.0) and NY/PA (4.5) will be awarded. The Woodbridge Hilton is easily accessible by car and a short walk from the Iselin train station, providing convenience for New York City and Philadelphia area attendees.
