Supreme Court Upholds Nike’s “Sue and Run” Tactic in Defending Trademarked Shoe Design
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the August 7th Federal Register notice of a proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement (“PPA”) with the City of St. Joseph, Missouri (“St. Jospeh”). See 89...more
Illustrating the importance of carefully drafting and reviewing language in a covenant not to sue, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the plain language of a covenant permitted a licensor to sue a...more
Bayer's ‘053 patent on its drug Xarelto® expires in November 2024, and Bayer granted Mylan a covenant not to sue. Bayer has a second patent that is subject to a pediatric exclusivity that expires later - February 2025 - and...more
Nippon Shinyaku and Sarepta entered into a Mutual Confidentiality Agreement to facilitate discussions about a potential business relationship related to muscular dystrophy therapies. Section 6.1 of the MCA contained a mutual...more
As part of the recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit took steps to return to normal operations. It began requiring live oral arguments in August 2022 and, by November,...more
On February 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that certain restrictions on the ability to challenge the validity of patents are enforceable. Without such restrictions, companies that are...more
In an order issued on October 15, 2021, United States District Judge Thomas W. Thrash from the Northern District of Georgia granted an employer’s Motion for Summary Judgment and ruled that plaintiff’s separation agreement...more
The decision for prospective litigants to bring and defend lawsuits can be difficult to navigate given the uncertainty of costs, especially attorney’s fees. Contrary to popular assumption, in Virginia, the general rule for...more
Under what is referred to as the “American Rule,” successful litigants in state and federal courts in the United States generally cannot recover their attorney’s fees and expenses from their opponents. Unless there is either...more
Abbreviated new drug (ANDA) applicant Amneal petitioned for an inter partes review (IPR) of Almirall’s patent listed in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Orange Book for a prescription drug to treat acne. Almirall...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)—the agency tasked with enforcing federal labor laws—was deputized by Congress in 1972 with authority to bring lawsuits against employers for violating anti-discrimination...more
[co-author: Kathleen Wills] Last year, the global COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for American courts. By making several changes, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was able to...more
For decades, severance agreements have been a staple of the employment relationship, inhering to the benefit of employers and employees alike. Through their use, employers are able to obtain peace of mind against future...more
The Federal Circuit recently affirmed a district court’s holding that a merger clause in a patent license settlement agreement did not extinguish a prior covenant not to sue on the same patent because the agreement did not...more
Last week, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit extinguished Molon Motor and Coil Corporation’s hopes of going forward with a patent infringement suit against its electric motor industry competitor Nidec Motor Corporation....more
MOLON MOTOR AND COIL CORP. v. NIDEC MOTOR CORPORATION - Before Lourie, Reyna, and Hughes. Appeal from U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Summary: In interpreting an integration clause that...more
BLACKBIRD TECH LLC v. HEALTH IN MOTION LLC - Before Wallach, Prost, and Hughes. Appeal from U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Summary: The Federal Circuit affirmed a finding that a frivolous...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before Dyk, Taranto, and Stoll. Appeal from U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Summary: The Federal Circuit lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a district court judgment...more
The states of Arkansas and Oklahoma announced on November 14th the execution of a document titled: Memorandum of Agreement by and Between the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment, the Oklahoma Secretary of...more
The recent decision of DeLorean v. DeLorean Motor Co. is no doubt significant to the parties as well as attorneys and courts who will cite it in future briefs and decisions. However, it is also important because it...more
Federal Circuit Summary - Before NEWMAN, DYK, and STOLL. Appeal from the Northern District of California. Summary: A consumer of a patented product has no standing under the Declaratory Judgment Act to challenge the...more
The PTAB denied institution of Covered Business Method (CBM) Review, finding that the parties’ license agreement and covenant not to sue removed any “imminent” threat of an infringement suit. MasterCard International Inc., v....more
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a summary judgment of non-infringement based on invalidity of asserted reissue claims as impermissibly broadened, notwithstanding a covenant not to sue that the patent...more
In Mylan v. Aurobindo the Circuit affirms the grant of a preliminary injunction based upon the infringement of one of the three patents in suit. However, the panel reverses the injunction as to the other two patents based on...more
Needless to say, a finding of exceptionality under 35 U.S.C. § 285 can have crippling consequences. Just ask Rembrandt Technologies, LP, which recently was slapped with an order to pay the prevailing defendants in a...more