Robert Bosch LLC v. Pylon Mfg. Corp.

Plaintiff Bosch, the patentee, sued defendant Pylon for infringement of certain wiper blade patents. At trial, Bosch prevailed with the jury finding validity and infringement. Bosch then sought entry of a permanent injunction. In denying Bosch's request for an injunction, the district court made a determination that Bosch had not proved irreparable harm based on three grounds: 1) its conclusion that Bosch failed to define a relevant market, 2) the existence of additional third-party wiper blade competitors in the market, and 3) the “non-core” nature of Bosch's wiper blade business in relation to its business as a whole. Robert Bosch LLC v. Pylon Mfg. Corp., 659 F.3d 1142, 1145 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (hereinafter “Bosch“). The lower court focused on the nature of competition between the parties and whether wiper blades were the core of Bosch's business and stated: “[t]his is not a clear case of a two supplier market where a sale to Pylon necessarily represents the loss of a sale to Bosch” and “wiper blades are not at the core of [Bosch's] business.” Id. at 1146. The district court did not address the remaining three factors of the test for an injunction mandated by eBay. Since the damages phase of the case was bifurcated, Bosch sought interlocutory appeal of the denial while the damages determination was pending.

The Federal Circuit's Decision