In another decision involving sanctions for defendants failure to provide discovery, the district court for the Western District of Michigan granted plaintiff’s motion for default judgment. The default was granted because the defendant had not participated in discovery. As the district court stated, “Defendants have not participated in discovery, but…
Articles Posted in District Courts
Consumer Surveys in Patent Cases
In a recent case in the Eastern District of Texas, the district court addressed the admissibility of a consumer survey to show demand for the patented features in accused products. The district court rejected plaintiff’s consumer surveys and granted the defendants’ motion to exclude plaintiff’s survey experts because the surveys…
Sanctions for Failure to Comply with Discovery Obligations
After a serious delay by the defendant in providing discovery, the district court granted plaintiff’s motion to strike the defendant’s answer and enter a default judgment. The district court found that the defendant continually mislead the plaintiff and the court regarding its discovery obligations and caused the case to be…
Another Court Severs Multiple Defendants – Interval Licensing LLC v. Apple Inc.
In yet another multi-defendant case, a district court has severed defendants from a patent infringement suit brought by a plaintiff against many defendants. In this case, the plaintiff brought suit against eleven defendants for infringing the same four patents. The district court granted defendants’ motion to sever because the plaintiff…
Multiple Defendants, Misjoinder and Severance in District Court News
The multitude of multiple defendants in patent infringement suits continue to increase on a daily basis. But some district courts are putting a stop to the practice, at least in certain circumstances, by severing defendants that are misjoined. In a recent case in the Central District of California, the court…
Selling Disabled Software Code Is Not Direct Infringement – Mikkelsen Graphic Engineering, Inc. v. Zund America, Inc.
On April 7, 2011, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment of direct infringement. Plaintiff’s patent, focused on graphics cutting, contained method claims that the district court concluded were not directly infringed. The district court concluded that even if defendant’s…
Johnson & Johnson Hit with $482 Million Verdict Plus $111 Million in Prejudgment Interest in District Court News
On March 31, 2011, the United District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Judge Ward) entered a judgment against Johnson & Johnson and Cordis Corporation in the amount of $583 million. The judgment stems from a patent infringement action filed by Bruce Saffran, M.D., Ph.D. against Johnson & Johnson…
Mirror Worlds Loses a $625 Million Judgment Against Apple
On April 4, 2011, the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas set aside a jury verdict of $625 million in favor of Mirror Worlds and against Apple, Inc. Mirror Worlds, LLC v. Apple, Inc., Case No. 6-08-CV-88 (E.D. Tex. April 4, 2011) (Judge Davis). The Court set aside…