Bonutti Skeletal Innovations LLC (“Benutti”) filed a patent infringement action against Conformis, Inc. (“Conformis”). Conformis moved to dismiss on several grounds, including that the complaint asserted an infringement theory based on “joint infringement” and therefore did not state a claim for relief. In analyzing the claim at issue, the district…
In UbiComm LLC v. Zappos IP Inc., No. 1-13-cv-01029 (D. Del. Nov. 13, 2013), the court dismissed the asserted patent claims as being directed at an abstract idea that was patent ineligible. Plaintiff UbiComm LLC (“UbiComm”) alleged that Zappos IP Inc.’s (“Zappos”) websites infringed method claims of United States Patent…
Personalized Media Communications, LLC “PMC”) filed a patent infringement action against Zynga, Inc. (“Zynga”). Prior to trial, PMC sought to use an exhibit created by Ocean Tomo, entitled “Patent Quality Inventor Study.” The study purported to rank “John Harvey (the inventor of the patents in suit) as the “top rated…
As Apple and Samsung prepare for a new trial on damages, Apple filed a motion to exclude part of the damage calculation set forth in Samsung’s updated expert report on damages. In particular, Apple moved to exclude the damage calculation pertaining to the Samsung Gem phone on the ground that…
In the patent infringement action between Cobra International, Inc. (“Cobra”) and BCNY International, Inc. (“BCNY”), BCNY filed a motion to compel several documents, including a litigation funding agreement. Cobra opposed the motion asserting that the person funding the litigation was not making decisions regarding the lawsuit and was not interfering…
Tuesday, January 14, 2014 1:00pm – 2:00pm The Intersection of Patents and Community Property: The Problem of the Ex-Spouse In a divorce, patents can be considered marital assets subject to community property laws, creating an unexpected and unwelcome tangle of legal issues for employers with a stake in the intellectual…
Porto Technology Co., LTD (“Porto”) filed a patent infringement action against Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless (“Verizon”). During the litigation, Verizon moved to compel communications between two of the plaintiffs, who are brothers, and counsel. As explained by the district court, the court began by looking at “communications between Ji-Soo…
Method Claims Applying Conventional Techniques to a Natural Phenomenon Held to be Patent Ineligible Subject Matter By Ali Shalchi The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found Sequenom’s patent claims on a prenatal diagnostic method to be invalid and not infringed by Arisoa Diagnostic’s Harmony Test product,…
In this patent infringement action between competing producers of satellites and satellite networking systems, ViaSat plaintiffs asserted that Space Systems/Loral infringed the ‘875 patent. As explained by the district court, the ViaSat plaintiffs are corporations that develop commercial and military satellite and digital communication technologies. SS/L is a wholly owned…
In this patent infringement action, Plaintiff NetAirus Technologies, LLC (“NetAirus”) asserted that Apple infringes U.S. Patent No. 7,103,380 (the “‘380 Patent”). The ‘380 Patent claims methods in which a “handset unit [ ] configured to a personal digital assistant (PDA)” wirelessly communicates over both a local area network (“LAN”) and…