In the first district court case applying the Federal Circuit’s new standard for proving inequitable conduct, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas concluded that defendants had failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the patents-in-suit were unenforceable due to inequitable conduct.
The case was tried to a jury and the jury returned a verdict finding, among other things, that the asserted claims were invalid. After that finding, the defendants filed a motion arguing that the first inventor committed fraud on the Patent Office by withholding material prior art with an intent to deceive.
Continue reading