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Washington State Patent Law Blog

Patent law and litigation in Washington state or affecting industries in Washington state along with software, biotechnology, and patent reform.
By Mark Walters

Post Frequency: 0.4/day

Last Entry: November 19, 2009 at 00:21:00

Ancora Settles Litigation with Microsoft

Posted on November 19, 2009
I posted back in April about a lawsuit that was transfered to Seattle. The lawsuit was between Ancora Technologies and Microsoft. Recently, Ancora sent out the following press release. Seattle, WA (PRWEB) November 13, 2009 -- Ancora Technologies today announced that a settlement has been reached in the litigation between Ancora, Miki Mullor, and Microsoft, both in respect of the patent

Big Baboon Battles Bilski, Court Cites Morse Code

Posted on November 09, 2009
Debate over the patentability of process patents, particularly those having claims drawn to software inventions, continues to rage in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to accept certiorari in Bilski. The state of the law is in flux. Portfolios of patents hang in the balance while patent lawyers across the U...

Microsoft Denied Declaratory Judgment Jurisdiction a Second Time

Posted on November 03, 2009
Microsoft was unable to sustain a declaratory action brought against WebXchange to invalidate three patents covering network services. The patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Numbers 5,778,178; 6,212,556; and 7,340,506. According to IP 360, the USPTO has agreed to re-examine the '178 and '556 patents and has canceled the claims of the '506 patent...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update Fall 2009

Posted on October 24, 2009
Seeing that it has been almost a month since I last posted, I thought I needed to break the silence and provide an update on the world of Seattle patent litigation. For my part, things have been extremely busy over the last 30 days, which included a trip back to the CAFC to argue a design patent case, one of the first that might extend the Egyptian Goddess holding into determinations of

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Oral argument audio available in i4i v. Microsoft

Posted on September 23, 2009
Audio files of today's merits argument in the i4i v. Microsoft appeal are available at the CAFC's website by following this link and this link.

Microsoft Files Reply in i4i Case

Posted on September 14, 2009
Microsoft filed its reply today to i4i's Brief in opposition to Microsoft's appeal. This brief does a good job trying to refocus attention to Microsoft's most winnable issues: (1) claim construction, (2) jury instructions, and (3) damages. The brief (correctly in my opinion) retreats from (abandons?) the "gatekeeper" theme that was so prevalent in Microsoft's opening brief...

CAFC: Jury's $360 M Damages Award Against Microsoft, In Favor of Lucent, Not Supported by Evidence

Posted on September 11, 2009
In a decision affirming the jury's finding of Microsoft's liability for infringement of Lucent's U.S. Patent No. 4,763,356, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("CAFC") reversed and remanded the damages award, which the jury had calculated to the penny, in the amount of $357,693,056...

i4i Files Response Brief at CAFC

Posted on September 10, 2009
Software maker and recently successful patent enforcer, i4i, filed its responsive brief yesterday in the appeal filed by Microsoft. In this high profile patent infringement case, Microsoft was found by a Texas jury to have infringed US Patent No. 5,787,449 on a method for reading XML, and ordered to pay over $280 M in damages for willful infringement...

i4i v. Microsoft: Injunction Stayed

Posted on September 03, 2009
Hal Wegner just reported that the CAFC will stay an injunction entered last month by Judge Leonard Davis of the ED of Texas. The injunction was to take effect October 10, 2009 and it was to apply against all copies of MS WORD currently being sold. The stay will be in place during the CAFC's consideration of Microsoft's appeal...

Microsoft Submits Opening Brief in i4i Appeal

Posted on August 26, 2009
Microsoft submitted its opening appeal brief on Tuesday and the CAFC set oral argument on its motion to stay Judge Davis' order enjoining further distribution of infringing copies of Microsoft's multi-Billion dollar WORD product. Oral argument on Microsoft's motion to stay and on Microsoft's motion for an expedited consideration of the appeal is set for September 23, 2009...

Nintendo Settles Patent Suit with Hillcrest

Posted on August 25, 2009
Nintendo has reached an agreement with Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc, signing a license agreement under three patents that are currently the subject matter of an ITC investigation. (For more, see my previous post here) On Friday, the companies filed a joint motion with the ITC, requesting dismissal in view of a settlement that resolved the ongoing dispute between them...

Ariad v. Lilly: Written Description Showdown at the CAFC

Posted on August 22, 2009
Yesterday the CAFC granted rehearing en banc in Ariad v. Lilly. The order poses two questions: 1. Whether 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 1, contains a written description requirement separate from an enablement requirement? and 2. If a separate written description requirement is set forth in the statute, what is the scope and purpose of the requirement?The debate at the CAFC centers around whether

Judge Davis Orders Microsoft to Stop Selling Word

Posted on August 13, 2009
As many of you undoubtedly already know, Judge Leonard Davis granted plaintiff i4i's motion for a permanent injunction following a jury verdict in the case for infringement of US Patent No. 5,787,499, which covers software controlling document architecture and content and enables individuals to manipulate electronic documents without using manually embedded command codes (i...

Section 293 and Baseball

Posted on August 08, 2009
The following was written by my colleague, Darby & Darby principal, Steve Lipman.In my recent efforts to learn the name of the ?Section 293 Notice? representative of a client?s U.S. patent, I came upon the following incredible story. By the way, for those of you who may not know about a ?Section 293 Notice,? it is a provision of Title 35 that gives a foreign owner of a U...

Seattle Patent Litgiation Update: July 2009

Posted on August 06, 2009
There were three patent cases filed in July. Here they are.July 27, 2009F5 Networks Inc v. Kemp Technologies Inc. (Judge Jones) July 23, 2009Sharafabadi v. University of Idaho et. al. (Judge Robart) July 22, 2009Avtech Corporation v. Day-Ray Products Inc...

Inter Partes Reexamination: When is a Final Ruling "Finally Determined"

Posted on August 04, 2009
The following case addresses the under appreciated concept of estoppel from so-called "final" rulings in an inter partes reexamination. In Safoco, Inc v. Cameron Int. Corp. (USDC SD Texas H-05-0739), the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas addressed when estoppel attaches to a "final" ruling at the PTO in an proceeding for inter partes reexamination...

Court Refuses to Vacate Markman Ruling Following Settlement

Posted on July 31, 2009
In the case Unigen Pharmaceuticals v. Walgreen Co. (07-471 RAJ), which is actually a consolidation of three cases brought by plaintiff Unigen, asserting infringement of US Patent No. 7,192,611 (for more on the consolidation, click here), the parties recently settled and approached the court jointly to dismiss the case and to also vacate a prior claims construction ruling...

Who Is Big Baboon Inc.?

Posted on July 29, 2009
A number of my readers have contacted me looking for information about Big Baboon, Inc. Here is what I know. According to its complaint filed against Dell, Amazon, HP, Fed Ex, Honda, and others, it owns 6,115,690 and 6,343,275, patents for "Integrated Business-to-Business Web Commerce and Business Automation...

Cordance v. Amazon: Summary Judgment a Mixed Bag

Posted on July 28, 2009
Amazon recently lost its motion for summary judgment on several patent infringement claims brought by Cordance Corp. in the companies? dispute over online purchasing technology. Cordance?s patents-in-suit are U.S. Patent Numbers 6,757,710; 6,044,205; 5,862,325; and 6,088,717...

ADC v. Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony Stayed Pending Reexamination

Posted on July 26, 2009
ADC Technology Inc, a Japanese corporation that owns several gaming patents related generally to music/karaoke-style video games, filed suit last October in Seattle against Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony. The patents in suit include:U.S. Patent 5,775,995, titled "Interactive Communication System forCommunicating Video? filed May 3, 1996 and issued July 7, 1998; U...

Microsoft Seeks JMOL in i4i Patent Case

Posted on July 10, 2009
From Bloomberg.com"[T]he world?s largest software maker asked a U.S. judge to throw out a $200 million verdict after a jury found that the company?s Word products violated a patented way to process electronic documents. Microsoft is also seeking a ruling that it didn?t use a patent owned by closely held i4i LP...

Cognex Can't Seek Early Summary Judgment in Bar-Code Reader Case

Posted on July 04, 2009
In this suit involving bar-code reader technology, Renton-based Microscan asserts US Patent No. 6,105,869 against Cognex, an international company with US headquaters in Massachusettes. In its Complaint, Microscan alleges that Cognex has been and is infringing at least claims 1, 7, 12 and 16 of the ?869 patent by manufacturing, using, selling and/or offering for sale at least its DataMan 100X,

Supreme Court denies Certiorari in Quanta v. Ricoh

Posted on July 01, 2009
Does the unconditional sale of a patented item overseas result in a forfeiture of rights to enforce patent rights in the United States? Federal Circuit precedent has answered this question in the negative; see Harold C. Wegner, Post-Quanta, Post-Sale Patentee Controls, 7 J...

Chinese High Court Comments on Patent Law

Posted on June 24, 2009
Supreme People?s Court Justice HE Zhonglin of the People?s Republic of China introduced the draft of Several Provisions of the Supreme People?s Court on Issues Concerning Applicable Laws to the Trial of Patent Infringement Controversies (the ?Judicial Interpretations?)...

Fluke Files Declaratory Judgment Action Against Competitor

Posted on June 17, 2009
Local manufacturer of electronic test tools (among other products in the largely "wired" electronics space reminiscent of last century), Fluke Products, filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that certain Modular Telephone Plugs do not infringe U.S...

Patently Challenging Road for Amazon

Posted on June 11, 2009
By all accounts, Amazon.com is an innovator. It pioneered online commerce in the 1990s and it was an early adopter of aggressive IP strategies, including the much maligned "one-click" patent, which was unsuccessfully enforced against Barnesandnoble.com in 2000 and is still suffering through reexamination at the request of a part time actor from New Zealand...

Texas Jury Stings Microsoft for $200M

Posted on May 21, 2009
I guess the third trial's the charm for patent holders looking to collect big money from Microsoft for patent infringement. After winning one case on summary judgment on the eve of trial, and settling another one mid-way through, Microsoft decided to gamble on the jury yesterday and lost...

Amazon.com Strikes Back at Discovery Communications

Posted on May 19, 2009
Amazon.com asserted three patents against Discovery Communications, owner of the well known cable TV brand, the Discovery Channel, as well as other goods and services sold under the Discovery name and mark. The patents-in-suit are U.S. Nos. 6,006,225 ("Refining Search Queries by Suggestion of Correlated Terms from prior Searches"); 6,169,986 ("System and method for Refining Search Queries");

Claim Construction Sticks in Bamboo Flooring Case

Posted on May 18, 2009
Judge Leighton resolved a motion for reconsideration of an order construing the terms "random orientation" as used in U.S. Patent No. 5,543,197, in an order that was issued over four months ago (previous posts here and here). The primary bone of contention was that the Court had construed these terms to require not only random orientation of the individual bamboo strands, but also random, "not

Surgical Trainer Patent Case Headed for Trial in October

Posted on May 11, 2009
Simulab Corp. will get a jury this fall to decide claims for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,780,016, a patent for a "Human Surgical Trainer and Methods for Training." Infringement claims are being asserted against Synbone AG, a Swiss company. My previous posts here and here, discussed Judge Zilly's summary judgment rulings, expressing skepticism that "Simulab can demonstrate the requisite

Fees Denied to K2 in Short Fat Ski Case

Posted on May 05, 2009
The case is Paul N. Nelson v. K2 Inc., Cause No. C07-1660RSL. My previous posts, explain that plaintiff Nelson lost his priority date claimed in U.S. Patent No. 5,603,522 on written description grounds, and then lost summary judgment on his invalidity defense based on allegedly "experimental sales...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update: May 2009

Posted on April 30, 2009
What recession? Seattle patent cases exploded during the months of February, March and April 2009 (list included in this post). Note that I've done something a little different for this post, I've included the patent number and the name of the plaintiff's lawyer and law firm...

Data Retrieval Patent Case Transferred

Posted on April 21, 2009
As a counter point to my previous post, regarding an order denying a defendant's motion to transfer patent litigation out of the WD of Wash., this post features the opposite result, a defendant winning a transfer to the N.D. of California. The case is Data Retrieval Tech v...

Potato Case Stays in Seattle

Posted on April 16, 2009
In the case Pace International LLC v. Industrial Ventilation, Inc., 08-1822-RSL, Judge Lasnik recently denied the Defendant's motion to transfer the case to the District of Idaho.This case involves allegations of infringement of a patent owned by Xeda International, S...

Alcatel-Lucent v. Microsoft: A Reason to Delay Congressional Patent Reform?

Posted on March 31, 2009
The damages issue has been hotly debated among those supportive of congressional patent reform, including so-called "damages apportionment" and damages keyed to the "whole market value" of a device.According to noted patent commentator, Hal Wegner, the case brought by Alcatel-Lucent against Microsoft embodies these damages "reform" issues and provides an opportunity for the Federal Circuit (and

USPTO Acted Within its Rulemaking Authority

Posted on March 20, 2009
The following summary was provided by Joseph R. Robinson of Darby & Darby, New York, NY.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released its opinion in the lawsuit challenging the implementation of the proposed USPTO rules on continuation applications and other USPTO procedures...

Nintendo Prevails Over Fenner Investments in East Texas Patent Suit

Posted on March 17, 2009
Literally on the "eve of trial," Judge Leonard Davis dismissed claims for patent infringement against Nintendo that were brought by Fenner Investment in East Texas. Fenner had alleging that the Wii console and its controllers along with the GameCube infringed on a patent held by Fenner...

Portland Chain-maker Makes it Rain, Winning $2-million in Patent Infringement Damages

Posted on March 10, 2009
A Portland jury recently found in favor of Blount, Inc., a maker of chainsaw chain, bar, and accessories under its Oregon brand, in a patent infringement action against TriLink Saw Chain, LLC, TriLink Global, LLC, Jinhua TriLink Huihuang Co., and Jinhua Huihuang Hardware Co...

Patent Reform 2009: It's a "Threepeat"

Posted on March 04, 2009

Microsoft Goes on the Offensive Against TomTom

Posted on February 25, 2009
Ben Romano from the Seattle Times reported today that Microsoft filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Seattle and the International Trade Commission against TomTom, the Amsterdam-based maker of portable GPS systems for in-car navigation, after more than a year of trying to reach a licensing arrangement...

Implicit Networks Sued by Sun

Posted on February 12, 2009
It's been a bad month for local patent licensing company, Implicit Networks. Its case against Intel, Sun, Real, and AMD was stayed in view of reexamination, and now, it has been DJed (pronounced "dee-jay-ed," yes, it can be a verb, meaning "to sue for a declaratory judgment") by Sun...

Simulab Survives Summary Judgment (Barely) In Surgical Trainer Patent Case

Posted on February 12, 2009
Following up on my recent post about this case involving a patent owned by Simulab Corp. for a surgical trainer (U.S. Patent No. 6,780,016 "Human Surgical Trainer and Methods for Training"), Judge Zilly granted in-part and denied in-part Defendant's motion for summary judgment...

Implicit Networks Case Stayed Pending Reexamination

Posted on February 11, 2009
Local patent licensing company, Implicit Networks, was dealt a blow recently in its bid to enforce patent rights against Intel, AMD, Real Networks, and Sun. Implicit Sued back in February 2008 on U.S. Patent No. 6,629,163, a patent covering various encryption methods using demultiplexing technology for data processing...

K2 Wins Summary Judgment in Wide Short Ski Case

Posted on February 05, 2009
Some of you may remember an earlier post of mine about this case. Individual inventor, Paul Nelson, sued K2 on claims involving U.S. Patent No. 5,603,522 covering a "Wide Short Ski." The specification was drawn to a shaped ski having a range of dimensions in length, side-cut radius, shovel width, and tail width...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update January 2009

Posted on February 04, 2009
The Western District saw just one patent case filed last month, Chen v. Unisen, Inc. (2:2009cv00128, assigned to Judge Lasnik). Unisen does business under the name Star Trac. According to the Star Trac web site, Star Trac is "proud to be an international leader in commercial quality fitness equipment...

Court Hears Arguments for Summary Judgment in Surgical Trainer Patent Case

Posted on January 27, 2009
Judge Zilly heard arguments recently on a pending motion for summary judgment in a case brought by Simulab Corp. involving U.S. Patent No. 6,780,016 for a Human Surgical Trainer and Methods for Training. The accused infringer is Synbone AG, a Swiss company...

In Re Comiskey: Fed. Cir. Narrowly Denies Rehearing En Banc

Posted on January 13, 2009
Rehearing en banc was denied today in the closely watched case dealing with patentable subject matter under 35 USC Section 101, In re Comiskey. The petition for rehearing en banc failed by two votes, (failing to achieve a majority of seven judges) as only Newman, Mayer, Rader, Bryson, Moore, JJ...

Plyboo Claims Construction Order Issued

Posted on January 12, 2009
Judge Leighton (Tacoma) recently construed the claim terms of U.S. Patent No. 5,543,197, a patent including claims for "parallel, randomly stacked, stranded, laminated bamboo beams and boards." According to the order, the term "beam" as used in the claims is not necessarily limited to something of sufficient size and strength to serve as a structural support...

National Products, Inc. Wins at Federal Circuit

Posted on January 07, 2009
National Products Inc., a local maker of mounting products under the trademark RAM, won a victory at the CAFC yesterday. The opinion, authored by Chief Judge Michel, affirmed an order from the USDC in the Central District of California (Judge Audrey B...

Federal Circuit Grants Mandamus, Transfers Case Out of E.D. of Texas

Posted on December 29, 2008
It was bound to happen sooner or later. Initiating patent litigation in East Texas--and keeping it there--just got a littler harder. Today, the CAFC granted an extraordinary writ of mandamus filed by TS Tech. USA Corporation, transferring a patent case out of the E...

Patent Litigation Statisitics in Washington State 2008

Posted on December 21, 2008
Looking back on another year of patent litigation in Washington State, 2008 started out with a bang but fizzled to end the year down about 15% from last year , with a just 42 cases through December. Washington had more patent cases this year than its neighboring states, Oregon (19); Idaho (3); and Alaska (0), but its patent docket in 2008 was still considerably smaller than California's (413),

Chef'n Can't Halt Sales of Trudeau's Vegetable Steamer

Posted on December 17, 2008
In a case testing the scope of a design patent after the Federal Circuit's en banc decision in Egyptian Goddess v. Swisa, local food-appliance innovator, Chef'n Corporation, was recently unsuccessful in obtaining a preliminary injunction against competitor, Trudeau Corporation of Boucherville, Quebec, Canada...

Local Rule Changes USDC WDWA

Posted on December 12, 2008
As many of you already know, substantial changes to the local rules have been approved and will become effective January 1, 2009. In addition to these changes in local rules, which apply to everyone practicing in the WDWA, the district has adopted Supplemental Patent Rules that apply in all patent cases filed in this district...

NVIDIA Settles Patent Dispute with Implicit Networks

Posted on December 10, 2008
Santa Clara-based NVIDIA Corporation, manufacturer of graphics-processor technologies for workstations, desktop computers, and mobile devices, settled a patent dispute today with Implicit Networks. Implicit is a small, Seattle-based company involved in computer software and licensing...

Western District Adopts Supplemental Patent Rules

Posted on December 05, 2008
From the Court's ECF system today: Please be advised that the court has adopted changes to its local general and civil rules. The court has also adopted supplemental patent rules. These changes to the local rules, as well as the supplemental patent rules, will take effect at 12:01 a...

Local Tooth Brush Maker Loses Motion for Preliminary Injunction

Posted on November 26, 2008
Apparently tooth brushes with rigid handles are a big problem for correctional facilities. Inmates routinely sharpen them into weapons to be used to stab and slash fellow inmates. Loops, LLC, solved this problem by developing a flexible toothbrush. (law professors take note, people are still coming up with new ways to make a toothbrush)...

FTC to Hold Public Hearings on IP

Posted on November 12, 2008
The Federal Trade Commission will hold a series of public hearings beginning on December 5 "to explore the evolving market for intellectual property." The FTC conducted a series of 24 hearings in 2002-03, leading up to its October, 2003 Report, "To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy...

In Re Bilski Decided

Posted on November 01, 2008
As many of you already know, the CAFC decided In Re Bilski this week. Some, including the PLI, claim that the decision spells the end of software patents. I completely disagree. In fact, the majority addressed the continued patentability of software specifically: "although invited to do so by several amici, we [also] decline to adopt a broad exclusion over software or any other such category

ZymoGenetics Settles Patent Spat with Bristol-Myers

Posted on October 29, 2008
This week in Seattle Biotech news, it was the best of times and the worst of times for ZymoGenetics (ZGEN). On Thursday last week, filings from the SEC reported that it had reached a settlement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. over a patent infringement suit concerning the rheumatoid arthritis drug, Orencia...

K2 Wins Partial Summary Judgment in Wide Short Ski Case

Posted on October 20, 2008
Inventor Paul Nelson sued K2 for infringement of his US Patent No. 5,603,522 covering a "Wide Short Ski." The specification was drawn to a shaped ski having a range of dimensions in length, side-cut radius, shovel width, and tail width. The claims at issue (added in a CIP) were for much narrower ranges than what was disclosed in the parent application's specification...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update: September 2008

Posted on October 15, 2008
Three new patent cases were filed in Seattle last month, all three assigned to Judge Pechman. September 26, 2008 Amphipod Inc v. Penguin Brands Inc Pechman September 16, 2008 Majestec 125 LLC v. Maritime Fabrications Inc Pechman September 12, 2008 Wistron Corporation v...

Guest Column on Extraterritoriality

Posted on October 07, 2008
This is the first in what I hope to be many guest columns. If you or anyone you know would like to post an article on WApatents.com, just send it to me for review. I reserve the right not to publish or to edit any articles you send me. Articles posted do not necessarily reflect my own views on the law; so if you disagree with something in a guest column, post a comment and contact the author.

Widevine Successfully Opposes Transfer Motion: Congestion in ED of Texas Cited

Posted on October 03, 2008
In a dispute between two competitors in the market for certain video encryption technology, Widevine v. Verimatrix (WDWA C08-1039 JLR), Judge Robart denied Verimatrix's motion to transfer the case to the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, where Judge Ward is already prosiding over a case involving the same companies and a separate patent...

Philips Electronics Can't Overturn Interference Ruling

Posted on September 29, 2008
In the United States (at least for the time being), the first person to invent has superior rights in a dispute involving multiple claims covering the same subject matter. According to a decision by the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences, an inventor at Philips Electronics, Morgan, was not the first to invent certain defibrillator methods claimed in US Patent No...

CAFC Reverses WDWA Decision on Personal Jurisdiction

Posted on September 22, 2008
In Campbell Pet Co. v. Maile, the Federal Circuit reversed an order finding personal jurisdiction lacking over an out-of-state defendant who had attended a trade show in Seattle and made verbal threats of patent infringement litigation. This decision reverses Judge Leighton's decision finding personal jurisdiction absent under Federal Circuit law (see my previous post on this decision here, where

CAFC Rules in Egyptian Goddess: Point of Novelty Test Gone (sort of)

Posted on September 22, 2008
The Federal Circuit issued its en banc decision today in Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc. (2006-1562). In a decision authored by Judge Bryson, the Court thoughtfully and carefully reviewed the history of the "point of novelty test," concluding that the test in its current incarnation "is of quite recent vintage" and holding that it "should no longer be used in the analysis of a claim of

Defendant Not "Entitled" to Discovery on Claim For Section 285 Fees

Posted on September 19, 2008
In a case where the underlying claims of infringement were dismissed voluntarily under Rule 41, Judge Jones recently ordered that a defendant was not entitled to take discovery in order to support a theory that the case was "exceptional" under 35 USC Section 285...

Can You Hear me Now? The Next Big VoIP Patent Battle will be Fought in Tacoma

Posted on September 12, 2008
It's been almost a year since Vonage, industry pioneer in VoIP and (after going from $17 at IPO to $1) current poster child for patent reform, settled allegations of patent infringement made by Sprint and Nortel (stories here and here) and more than a year since it was hit with a $58 M judgment following a jury's verdict of infringement and a potentially devastating injunction resulting from

Seattle Patent Litigation Update: August, 2008

Posted on September 04, 2008
While August was a relatively slow month for new cases in Seattle (only one, Laughing Rabbit Inc. v. OpticsPlanet, Inc (08-01176 JLR), area technology companies were busy elsewhere dealing with a variety of patent issues. Notably, Microsoft settled its dispute with Immersion Corp, obtaining a one-time payment of $20...

Seattle Patent Law Community Mourns the Passing of Lee Johnson

Posted on August 26, 2008
Friends, family, and local patent practitioners met yesterday to mourn the loss of Lee Johnson, a talented engineer and patent lawyer who spent over 35 years as named partner of one of Seattle's oldest IP boutiques, Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness (commonly referred to by the acronym COJK)...

Declaratory Judgment Case Against CRS LLC Dismissed on First to File Rule

Posted on August 24, 2008
In a case for declaratory judgment styled TGN, Inc. v. CRS LLC (08-680MJP), plaintiff TGN sought an order invalidating US Pat. 6,073,124 and declaring that certain software does not infringe. TGN is wholly owned by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). Among others, TGN and TBS own and operate a website, GameTap...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update: July 2008

Posted on August 12, 2008
It was a very busy month in July for patent litigation. Here is the case list. July 29, 2008 Chef'n Corporation v. Trudeau Corporation WA Western Pechman Patent Federal Question Plaintiff: Chef'n Corporation; Defendant: Trudeau Corporation July 23, 2008 Northwest Agricultural Products, Inc...

BPAI Raises Stakes for In Re Bilksi and the Future of Software Patents

Posted on July 24, 2008
An excellent article by John Duffy, professor of law at George Washington University Law School, explains that two recent decisions from the USPTO's Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), Ex parte Langemyr (May 28, 2008) and Ex parte Wasynczuk (June 2, 2008) substantially raise the stakes for all interested parties in the Federal Circuit's en banc review of In re Bilski, a decision set

Claims Construction Order in Wide, Short Ski Case against K2

Posted on July 23, 2008
Judge Lasnik recently construed claims for US Patent No. 5,603,522 for a "Wide, Short Ski." The case is one for infringement brought by inventor Paul Nelson against K2 Corporation. The parties disputed six claim terms from independent claim 1. Not surprisingly, the patent here uses words of approximation, like "about" and "approximately" to describe some numerical measurement ranges...

Federal Circuit Vacates Exceptional Case Finding and Over $6 million Dollar Award of Attorneys Fees

Posted on July 18, 2008
Catching up on my reading, I notice that in May, the Federal Circuit affirmed in-part, remanded, and vacated in-part a judgment entered following a two-week bench trial here in Seattle between TALtech Limited and Esquel Apparel, Inc. involving US Patent No...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update (May-June 2008)

Posted on July 13, 2008
So my trial is now over. My posts will pick up and be more frequent. I'm happy to report a victory for one local inventor over Sears Roebuck and their advertising firm, Young & Rubicam. Jury returned a verdict for $1.7 million on Wednesday afternoon...

Trainman Lantern Company Wins Summary Judgment of Non-infringement

Posted on June 21, 2008
Some of you may remember my post about this case in March involving US 7,118,245 for a Trainman Lantern. The Plaintiff in this case, A.G. Design & Associates, LLC, sells patented lanterns to Burlington Northern Santa Fe and other railroads for use by trainmen and engineers...

Seattle Patent Litigation Update: May 2008

Posted on June 05, 2008
Things finally slowed down last month in terms of new patent case filings in the Western District. There was just one new case hitting the electronic docket in May, and it was actually filed in April, so it really doesn't count as a May filing. Since it didn't make April's list, I'll post it here...

Seattle Patent Litigation News

Posted on May 21, 2008
It's been a while since I've posted. I know both of you are disappointed (hi mom). Reason for the hiatus is that I've been preparing for trial. So expect my posts to be less frequent through about the end of July. There's still a lot to report on the local patent litigation front...

Seattle Patent Litigation Report: April 2008

Posted on May 10, 2008
April was a very busy month for patent litigation in the Western District of Washington. Wacom settled its patent dispute with competitor, Hanvon, Microsoft and Veritas settled their decade old database dispute, and there were seven new cases filed...

All Eyes On Translogic's Patent Appeal to Supreme Court

Posted on May 06, 2008
Normally, a party who loses its appeal at the Federal Circuit has little hope of the Supreme Court accepting its case on a petition for Certiorari. Even with increased activity by the Supreme Court reviewing patent cases in the last two years, chances of having review granted by the Supreme Court are less than 1 in 1000...

Unigen Agrees to Consolidate Three Pending Cases

Posted on May 05, 2008
Unigen Pharmaceuticals, maker of an herbal supplement Univestin (a blend of flavans from Acacia catechu and flavanoids from Chinese Skullcap (Scutellaria Baicalensis)) agreed Friday to consolidate three pending cases for infringement of US Patent No. 7,192,611...

New Study Says Western District's Claim Construction Decisions Get Reversed Nearly 40% of the Time

Posted on April 30, 2008
A study published recently in the Michigan Law Review says that claim construction decisions by the Western District of Washington were reversed by the CAFC 38.9 % of the time during the time period April 24, 1996 (the date of the Supreme Court's decision in Markman) and June 30, 2007...

Subject Matter Jurisdiction After MedImmune

Posted on April 25, 2008
Yesterday, Judge Jones issued a decision that required the Court to "traverse uncharted territory between the Supreme Court?s decision in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc., 127 S.Ct. 764 (2007), and the Federal Circuit?s decision in Monsanto Co. v. Bayer Bioscience N...

Washington State Patent Law Association Files Amicus Brief in Bilski

Posted on April 21, 2008
On April 4, 2008 the Washington State Patent Law Association (WSPLA) filed an amicus brief in support of Petitioner Bernard L Bilksi and Rand A Warsaw in the case currently under en banc consideration by the CAFC, In re Bilksi. My earlier posts on this case can be found here and here...

Crocs Suffers Major Setback at the ITC

Posted on April 16, 2008
Because of my involvement in this case as counsel for local shoe designer, Australia Unlimited (maker of the NOTHINZ brand of foam clog), I'll limit my post to reporting the fact that Crocs has suffered a major blow in its case at the ITC. By way of background, Crocs filed a complaint at the ITC over two years ago claiming that a number of other providers of foam clogs were infringing its IP

Report for Washington State Patent Cases: March 2008

Posted on April 09, 2008
Patent case filings in Washington State remained strong through March. There were four cases filed total; three in the Western District and one in the Eastern District. This is one better than March 2007, which only had three patent cases total. So far, Washington is substantially ahead of where it was last year at this time in terms of the number of patent cases filed...

AIPLA Submits Amicus Brief in Bilski Case, Arguing for Broad Patentable Subject Matter

Posted on April 08, 2008
Here is a Link to the AIPLA Brief in the Bilski case. My post on this case is found here. This is from the AIPLA post on the case: AIPLA on April 7, 2008, filed an amicus brief with the en banc Federal Circuit, arguing that it is improper to apply the subject matter categories at 35 U...

Jury Hits Microsoft with Patent Infringement Verdict of $367 million

Posted on April 06, 2008
A San Diego, CA jury returned a verdict last Friday against Microsoft in its patent infringement suit with Alcatel-Lucent. The amount: $367 million. Check out my previous post on this case to get some more background. The patents at issue all involve video coding technology as well as patents related to a form entry system, algorithms for gesture recognition and commands to select video display

Patent Case for Wrist Apparatus Stayed Pending Reexamination

Posted on April 02, 2008
Belkin, Inc., a leading manufacturer of accessories for the electronics industry, won its motion to stay a patent infringement case filed by Prokop Labs, LLC for infringement of US 5,566,913, for a "Wrist Apparatus." Several other manufacturers and retailers were sued...

Judge Cacheris Grants GSK's and Tafas' Motions for Summary Judgement

Posted on April 01, 2008
Most patent practitioners are rejoicing today. The proposed new USPTO rules will will remain blocked, at least for now. Judge Cacheris from the U.S.D.C., E.D. of Virginia issued a decision today granting GSK's and Mr. Tafas' motions for summary judgment...

Plaintiff Ordered to Produce More Specific Infringement Contentions

Posted on March 28, 2008
The Plaintiff in the case Gebr. Tigges Gmbh & Co. KG v. EYS Metal Sanayi Ltd. (C07-1673) (Lasnik, J.) was ordered to produce more specific infringement contentions in response to the Court's scheduling order calling for "preliminary infringement contentions...

Preliminary Injunction in Tacoma Lantern Case Reversed by the CAFC

Posted on March 24, 2008
In this case for infringement of US 7,118,245, the USDC, WDWA in Tacoma granted the plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction on July 3, 2007. In ordering the preliminary injunction, the district court (Judge Burgess) noted that expert testimony provided that the accused device was "identical in all respects (within + or - ...

Bamboo Flooring Defendant Gets a Second Chance to State Fraud and Antitrust Defenses

Posted on March 21, 2008
Defendant Smith & Fong Company, a California provider of bamboo furniture and building products, including bamboo flooring under the name PLYBOO, was sued last December by Teragren, LLC for infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,543,197, "Parallel Randomly Stranded Laminated Bamboo Boards and Beams...

Microsoft's Data Base Patent Invalidated in Suit with Veritas

Posted on March 15, 2008
As predicted in my earlier post on this case, Judge Coughenhour accepted findings by the special master and invalidated Microsoft's U.S Patent No. 5,558,147. The case is not over by any means. Microsoft is positioned quite well for the upcoming May 2008 trial with total damages on the contract claims capped at $4,000,000...

Claims Construction Order on Alliance Packaging v. Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.

Posted on March 14, 2008
In this case, Plaintiff Alliance Packaging asserts infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,156,287 against Altivity Packaging LLC. The patent-in-suit is for a container with a spout. Judge Zilly recently held a Markman hearing and construed the following terms of the '287 patent claims: "lower side" "acute angle" and "cover the concavity...

Cisco and Rick Frenkle (a.k.a. Patent Trolltracker) Sued for Defamation

Posted on March 12, 2008
Michael Smith is reporting that the recently unmasked "patent TrollTracker," Rick Frenkle, has been sued along with his company Cisco by attorney John ("Johnny") Ward, Jr. of Ward and Smith in Longview, Texas. The allegations originate with a post by trolltracker regarding the filing date of a complaint Ward filed against Cisco for patent infringement in October last year...

Summary Judgment Granted For Microsoft on Patent Claims brought by Veritas

Posted on March 10, 2008
Judge Coughenhour adopted findings by the special master and granted Microsoft's motion for partial summary judgment on Veritas' claim for infringement of US Patent No. 5,469,573. Here is a summary of the decision from Jurisnotes and a link to the order's text: Veritas sued Microsoft for patent infringement and related claims; the court adopted the report of the special master recommending that

Western District Patent Case Filings Remain Strong through February

Posted on March 04, 2008
Patent case filings in Seattle and Tacoma remained strong through February following a red-hot January. While there weren't half as many filings as in January, February 2008 saw four patent cases filed in Seattle and Tacoma, that is more than February 2007 which saw only three and more than February 2006, which also had only three...

The Art of Networking, A Seattle Patent Litigator's Perspective from the 2008 AIPLA Mid-Winter Institute in Phoenix, Arizona

Posted on January 24, 2008