While the Supreme Court’s decisions in Octane Fitness, LLC v. ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. and Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc. significantly relaxed the standard for awarding attorney fees under 35...more
Both courts and litigants are only now appreciating the full impact of the Supreme Court’s 2014 decisions on fee shifting in patent cases. Key Points: ..Successful Section 285 motions have increased substantially in the...more
In SCA v. First Quality Baby Products, the Supreme Court holds that laches should not be available as a defense in patent cases, refusing to concur with the Circuit’s en banc holding that the Patent Act’s 6-year limitation on...more
In the immortal words of the most recent Nobel Laureate in literature, “the times they are a changin.’” Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act provides that “[t]he court in exceptional cases may award reasonable attorney fees to...more
The U.S. Supreme Court announced last week that it will decide two cases concerning the issue of when district courts may award enhanced damages to patentees upon a finding of infringement. Stryker Corp. v. Zimmer, U.S., No....more
Just four years ago in 2011, President Obama signed the America Invents Act (AIA) into law. Since the enactment of the AIA, there has continued to be steady pressure for further reform. In 2013, the Innovation Act was...more
2013 brought generic drug companies increased financial and legal hurdles when it came to marketing their products in the U.S. First, substantial new GDUFA “user fees” got levied on generics for access to the FDA. Then, the...more
Icon Health & Fitness, Inc. v. Octane Fitness, LLC; Checkpoint Systems, Inc. v. All-Tag Sec., S.A.; Highmark, Inc. v. Allcare Health Mgmt. Sys., Inc. - In the span of 10 days, and in the wake of the U.S Supreme Court...more
In April, the Supreme Court reshaped the patent litigation landscape with its Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness and Highmark, Inc v. Allcare Health Management System, Inc., rulings. The statute at issue in both...more
Innovative Biometric Technology LLC v. Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. - In April 2014, a unanimous Supreme Court of the United States reversed two opinions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal...more
In the recent cases OCTANE FITNESS, LLC v. ICON HEALTH & FITNESS, INC. and HIGHMARK INC. v. ALLCARE HEALTH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, INC., the U.S. Supreme Court empowered district court judges to award attorney fees to prevailing...more
Two recent Supreme Court decisions changed the standards for the award of attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in patent infringement suits. Section 285 of the Patent Act provides for the award of fees in “exceptional”...more
FEDERAL CIRCUIT CASES - Newsgroup Post Held to be A Printed Publication and Anticipatory Prior Art - On May 27, 2014, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision granting summary judgment of invalidity by the...more
Standard For Obtaining Attorney’s Fees Too High - In OCTANE FITNESS, LLC v. ICON HEALTH & FITNESS, INC., Appeal No. 12-1184, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the Federal Circuit’s affirmance of the district...more
Two decisions handed down by the United States Supreme Court on April 29 will make it easier for a party wrongfully sued for patent infringement to recover attorney fees. As such, the decisions have the potential to...more
Two decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court on April 29, 2014 may have an impact on the “patent trolls” debate by changing the rules relating to the award of attorney fees to a winning party in litigation relating to patent...more
The recent Octane Fitness and Highmark, Inc. opinions, both authored by Justice Sotomayor after unanimous holdings by the United States Supreme Court, were a welcome development for corporate defendants in patent infringement...more
With respect to the two related questions before the Supreme Court of the United States, the court held that (1) the prior standard used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit for determining whether a case is...more