Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two opinions (Octane Fitness and Highmark) that create a more flexible, deferential standard for determining what constitutes an “exceptional” patent case in which a district court has discretion to award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. The Court rejected the Federal Circuit’s rigid test that required
Appeals
Qualcomm and Nokia submit amici curiae briefs to the Federal Circuit in Ericsson v. D-Link appeal
Qualcomm and Nokia weighed-in on the Ericsson v. D-Link appeal yesterday, each filing amici curiae briefs with the Federal Circuit. The parties’ positions favored the patent owner, though each adopted different approaches to the issues on appeal. Qualcomm focused on the fact-specific contractual nature of RAND commitments that patent owners rely on based on an…
Judge Whyte schedules permanent injunction and post-trial motion hearing (Realtek v. LSI)
Yesterday Judge Whyte entered a post-trial scheduling order setting briefing and hearing dates for post-trial motions as well as Realtek’s request to permanently enjoin LSI “from enforcing, or seeking to enforce, any exclusion order or injunction that Defendants [LSI] might obtain with regard with regard to the ‘958 and ‘856 patents [LSI’s WiFi SEPs at…
Supreme Court Rules that Burden to Show Infringement in Declaratory Judgment Action for Non-Infringement Remains with Patentee
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Medtronic, Inv. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, unanimously reversing the Federal Circuit’s decision below and resolving two issues that are commonly disputed in the lower courts. First, the Court held that the Federal Circuit had subject-matter jurisdiction over an appeal of an action for a…
Motorola and Apple Dispute Whether Apple’s FRAND Claims Should Have Been Dismissed (Apple v. Motorola, Fed. Cir. 2013-1150, -1182)
The parties and amicus have now finished briefing in the appeal from Judge Crabb’s ruling that dismissed Apple’s action seeking a declaration of a FRAND royalty because Apple would not agree to be bound by that ruling. This post summarizes the parties most recent filings.
First, recall that last summer we posted about Apple’s opening…
Second Circuit argument today on dismissal of RAND/antitrust dispute based on foreign activity
Today, the Second Circuit will hear argument in an important case on the extent that foreign injury (reduced foreign sales and closure of foreign plants) arising from foreign RAND breaches can have remedy in the U.S. based on their impact on U.S. commerce. The case, Lotes Co., Ltd. V. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.…
American Antitrust Institute Contends Georgia-Pacific Factors Are Innappropriate for RAND-Encumbered Patents (Ericsson v. D-Link, Fed. Cir.)
Two weeks ago, we posted about non-party IEEE’s amicus curaie brief in Ericsson v. D-Link, et al., an appeal pending before the Federal Circuit. The appeal, initiated by defendants D-Link, Dell, Acer, Gateway, Netgear and Toshiba, challenges a jury’s damage award against the defendants for infringement of plaintiff Ericsson’s patents that are claimed to be…
IEEE speaks-out on RAND commitments in Ericsson v. D-Link appeal (Fed. Cir. No. 2013-1625)
Last week, on Dec. 20, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE) filed an amicus brief (not supporting any side) in the appeals to the Federal Circuit from the jury award and RAND rulings by Judge Leonard Davis in E.D. Tex. concerning three of Ericsson’s 802.11 Wi-Fi patents. Our August post discussed the…
Qualcomm and Ericsson Submit Amicus Briefs in Apple v. Motorola Judge Crabb Appeal (No. 13-1150)
Qualcomm and Ericsson have filed amicus briefs in the appeal of Judge Crabb’s dismissal of Apple’s declaratory judgment action that sought a court-determined FRAND royalty rate under Motorola patents, where Judge Crabb dismissed the case after Apple would not agree to be bound by that FRAND determination (see our July post). Qualcomm and Ericsson…
Funai’s Comments in ITC’s review of RAND ruling in LSI-Realtek investigation (Inv. No. 337-TA-837)
Our prior posts discussed Complainant LSI’s comments and respondent Realtek’s comments in the ITC’s investigation of whether Realtek and Funai infringe LSI’s alleged standard essential patents (SEPs). These comments were submitted in response to the Commission’s request for information on various issues to aid in its review of the ALJ’s conclusion that Realtek and Funai …