New England IP Blog

Covering intellectual property developments in New England, and other developments that impact New England companies.

Category Archives: Manufacturing

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Summary Judgment Shot Down in Rifle Patent Lawsuit

By Xin Hu Rasmussen on Posted in Claims, Construction & Drafting, Infringement, Manufacturing, New Hampshire, Sports
In a recent patent case concerning hunting rifles, Judge McCafferty in the District of New Hampshire granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment with respect to literal infringement of a patent on a rifle handguard, but denied the motion with respect to infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. The case arose when the plaintiff, Davies Innovations, Inc., the owner of a U.S. patent … Continue Reading

Judge Young Addresses Possibility Versus Plausibility in Patent Pleadings

By Scott Bertulli on Posted in Chemical, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Motion to Dismiss, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Semiconductors
Judge Young granted a plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint that satisfactorily pushed its claim from merely possible to plausible, in a recent opinion from the District of Massachusetts. The analysis is instructive to prospective plaintiffs as to the threshold showing of use that must be made to sufficiently support a patent infringement claim. In the original complaint, the … Continue Reading

Privilege Claims Validated in Counterfeit Detection Dispute

By Gourdin Sirles on Posted in Financial Services, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Procedure/Jurisdiction
In a recent decision, Magistrate Judge Kelley addressed the legitimacy of withholding third party communications under the common interest doctrine. The case involved plaintiff Crane Security Technologies, Inc. (“Crane”) – the exclusive supplier of banknote paper for United States currency – and defendant Rolling Optics, AB (“RO”) – that, among other things, manufactures 3D micro-optic … Continue Reading

Rampage’s Patent Suit Inks a Partial Victory in Surviving Motion to Dismiss

By Laura Stafford on Posted in Electronics, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Motion to Dismiss, Software
Judge Allison Burroughs of the District of Massachusetts recently issued a decision that provides much-needed insight into pleading standards in patent cases. With the demise of Form 18 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, litigants have been faced with a number of questions concerning the level of detail a plaintiff needs to include in a … Continue Reading

Court Throws Out Back Massager Trade Dress Infringement Claims on Motion to Dismiss

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Connecticut, Health Care, Manufacturing, Medical Devices, Motion to Dismiss, Trademarks and Trade Dress
As the first-filed paper in nearly any litigation, the complaint is typically subject to rigorous scrutiny from the named defendant to identify any flaws that may dispatch the case via a motion to dismiss. A plaintiff in the District of Connecticut recently felt this pain, as its complaint was dismissed under Rule 12(b)(6) for failing … Continue Reading

Close Shave on Whether Cease and Desist Letter Creates DJ Jurisdiction

By Safraz Ishmael on Posted in Connecticut, Declaratory Judgment, Manufacturing, Procedure/Jurisdiction
Rather than wait around for the hammer to fall, companies under threat of an intellectual property lawsuit sometimes choose to file a declaratory judgment complaint. Such “DJ” complaints usually ask the court to clear the air and decide the issue in the filer’s favor. Declaratory judgment filers are often motivated by the fact that they can … Continue Reading

Accused Infringer Puts the Screws on Patentee

By Laura Stafford on Posted in Invalidity, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Obviousness
We wrote recently about a summary judgment decision in which Judge Indira Talwani found certain asserted claims of two patents on a type of breakable screw to be obvious in light of the prior art. This ruling came even though the patentee had produced some evidence of copying, and even though the accused infringer had not shown a motivation … Continue Reading

Accused Infringer Secures Patent Invalidity in Eyeglass Screw Case

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Declaratory Judgment, Expert Testimony, Infringement, Infringement/Willfulness, Invalidity, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Obviousness, Ownership, Prior Art, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Summary Judgment
Declaratory judgment actions can be a useful way for entities threatened with patent infringement to go on the offensive.  In one such matter in the District of Massachusetts, a declaratory judgment plaintiff turned the tables on a patentee by invalidating two patents relating to eyeglass screw technology at the summary judgment stage.… Continue Reading

Lights Out for Invalidity and Unenforceability Counterclaims After PTAB Invalidates Design Patent

By Micah Miller on Posted in Declaratory Judgment, Design Patents, Inter-Partes Review, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Patent Office, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Stays, Summary Judgment
Flipping the switch on the last remaining claims in the case, a Massachusetts Court recently dismissed as moot two defendants’ counterclaims for declaratory judgment of invalidity and unenforceability following a PTAB decision invalidating the asserted patent. In 2013, Maureen Reddy sued defendants Lowe’s and Evolution Lighting for infringement of U.S. Design Patent No. D677,423, alleging … Continue Reading

Laches Defense Loses its Luster in LED Patent Dispute

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Defenses, Electronics, Laches, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Semiconductors
In determining whether a laches defense applies to thwart a claim of patent infringement, courts must often shine a light upon murky and complicated factual scenarios. A Massachusetts court recently navigated such a scenario in granting the plaintiff’s motion for judgment, deciding that the complex web of facts did not support a defense of laches … Continue Reading

Wisp of a Possibility of Gas Kit Lawsuit May Establish Declaratory Judgment Jurisdiction

By Hang (Helena) Zheng on Posted in Automotive, Declaratory Judgment, Electronics, Jurisdiction, Manufacturing, Massachusetts
In a recent case concerning propane gas kits used as an alternative fuel conversion system, the District of Massachusetts found that declaratory judgment jurisdiction exists, even though the parties in the case had entered into an extended covenant not to sue. The opinion reasoned that because the accused infringer, New England Gen-Connect, is presently making and selling the accused products and … Continue Reading

Massachusetts Court Clears Patent Prosecutors of Malpractice Claims Arising From Representation of Clients in Same Technology Area

By Safraz Ishmael on Posted in Ethics, Malpractice, Manufacturing, Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court yesterday affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a legal malpractice suit finding that, “simultaneous representation by a law firm in the prosecution of patents for two clients competing in the same technology area for similar inventions is not a per se violation,” of certain Massachusetts attorney professional conduct rules. The … Continue Reading

Beware the Quagmire of Personal Jurisdiction

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Chemical, Jurisdiction, Manufacturing, New Hampshire, Procedure/Jurisdiction
A plaintiff in the District of New Hampshire recently found itself stuck in an unenviable and inescapable jurisdictional hole. Plaintiff Presby Patent Trust sued Infiltrator Systems, a Connecticut-based manufacturer and distributor of septic systems, in New Hampshire for allegedly infringing Presby’s patent on a method for processing effluent. Presby asserted that Infiltrator’s Advanced Treatment Leachfield … Continue Reading

Conflicting Expert Opinions Prevent Summary Judgment

By Laura Stafford on Posted in Direct Infringement, Electronics, Infringement/Willfulness, Manufacturing, Massachusetts
A recent summary judgment opinion by Judge Patti B. Saris highlights the importance of expert testimony in substantiating factual disputes and withstanding summary judgment. In denying both parties’ motions for summary judgment on infringement, Judge Saris relied heavily on the opposing opinions of the parties’ experts. Here, Boston University sued Everlight Electronics, a manufacturer of light-emitting … Continue Reading

Joint Defendants Succeed on Motion to Stay Pending Reexam

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Manufacturing, New Hampshire, Patent Office, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Reexamination, Stays
For defendants in patent infringement cases, moving to stay the case pending the outcome of a concurrent U.S. Patent Office reexamination proceeding is a fairly common building block that has the potential to streamline or even eliminate a costly and lengthy litigation. And, as one litigant that makes construction-grade joint systems recently found out, under the … Continue Reading

Mobile Medical’s Validity Experts Get To Stay Behind The Wheel

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Expert Testimony, Invalidity, Manufacturing, Obviousness, Prior Art, Validity, Vermont
As the established gatekeepers with respect to expert testimony, district courts have broad discretion on whether to admit or exclude such evidence. The Vermont district court recently opted to deny patentee defendant Advanced Mobile’s (“AMHS”) motions to disqualify both of declaratory judgment plaintiff Mobile Medical’s (“MMIC”) expert witnesses, who had provided opinions relating to the invalidity … Continue Reading

Lights Out on Boilerplate Discovery Responses

By Laura Stafford on Posted in Design Patents, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Procedure/Jurisdiction
A growing number of judges around the country are becoming wary of litigants that appear to be abusing the discovery process, and in effect driving up the cost of patent litigation.  Clamping down on such practices appears to be the impetus behind one recent discovery order in the District of Massachusetts, scolding a litigant for its boilerplate … Continue Reading

The Blurred Lines of the Indefiniteness Road Map

By Patrick Niedermeier on Posted in Indefiniteness, Manufacturing, New Hampshire, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Software, Summary Judgment, Validity
As lower courts begin to apply the Supreme Court’s reworded standard for indefiniteness as set forth in Nautilus, Inc. v. BioSig Instruments, Inc., they have grappled with the question of where to draw the line between claims that are not indefinite and those that are.  In a recent order by Judge Landya McCafferty, the New Hampshire … Continue Reading

Another Patentee’s Infringement Case Zapped Pending Inter Partes Review

By Tom Hoehner on Posted in Inter-Partes Review, Manufacturing, Massachusetts, Procedure/Jurisdiction, Semiconductors, Stays
Newly minted District Judge Leo T. Sorokin wasted no time halting Zond, LLC’s patent infringement suit against Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. and GlobalFoundries U.S., Inc., as well as various related foreign entities, in Massachusetts federal court, staying the case pending inter partes review of the asserted patents in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  The case involves … Continue Reading
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