Patent Litigation

Federal Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Declaratory-Judgment Action Based Under Rule Against Piecemeal Adjudication
Federal Circuit Affirms Non-Infringement Finding Despite Defendant's Discovery Violation

Exmark Manufacturing Company Inc. v. Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group, LLC

The rate of the reasonable royalty awarded to a successful patent plaintiff must be based on the facts of the case. A damages expert cannot merely pay lip service to the Georgia-Pacific factors and then “pluck” a royalty rate from thin air.

Claim Preclusion Requires Analysis that Claims in Newly Asserted Patents are Patently Indistinct from Claims in Previously Adjudicated Patents
Claim Elements Taught by Prior Art for Purposes of Novelty and Obviousness are not Necessarily 'Well-Understood, Routine, and Conventional' Under §101

The U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed to consider whether a patentee may recover foreign lost profits resulting from infringement of a United States patent.

Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Sys., Inc.

The Federal Circuit ruled that basing a reasonable royalty calculation on the “smallest salable unit” does not obviate the need to apportion damages to the patented contribution within that unit.

Federal Circuit Vacates Noninfringement Decision Finding a Genuine Dispute as to Divided Infringement
Patent Trial and Appeal Board Holds Sovereign Immunity No Defense to IPR Petition Brought by Accused Infringer

On Jan. 8, 2018, the Federal Circuit issued its significant en banc decision in Wi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom. In that decision, the Federal Circuit held that the time-bar of 35 U.S.C. §315(b) is reviewable on appeal, thus overturning a prior panel decision and opening the door for parties to challenge how the USPTO has interpreted and applied that statutory provision.

This article examines the impact of TC Heartland with a focus on recent Federal Circuit decisions applying TC Heartland and further clarifying the scope of where patent cases may be filed.