Patent Law

The following is excerpted from a May 4, 2009 article by Gina Passarella at The Legal Intelligencer:

An insurance company does not have to cover more than $800,000 in legal fees racked up by a client defending a patent infringement suit because the action was brought by a vendor, not a customer, and did not fall under the professional liability coverage of the policy, the Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled.

The ruling in Transcore v. Caliber One Indemnity Co. is a win the for the insurance company that was appealing a Philadelphia judge's ruling requiring the company to cover the legal fees.

The court, in an opinion by Judge Richard B. Klein, said there were two aspects of Caliber One's policy for Transcore and its subsidiary, Amtech, that prevented coverage. Because the patent infringement action was brought by another vendor with no relationship to Amtech, and not a customer, it was not a "professional liability" action under the terms of the policy.

Read the full article here.