Trademark and Copyright Bills Readied for Presidential Approval

In the latest AIPLA Report (sorry, AIPLA membership is required to read the article), it was reported that the House of Representatives agreed to a Senate amendment regarding H.R. 683 (trademark dilution) and H.R. 1036 (copyright), clearing the bills for White House approval. A copy of H.R. 683 is available here . H.R. 683’s changes

Infringement Judgment Issues in Fuel-Ethanol Patent Dispute

Danish company Novozymes A/S scored a big victory recently in protecting its commercial enzymes used in the fuel-ethanol industry. Coming on the heels of an expedited bench trial, District Judge Kent A. Jordan issued a 64-page opinion finding that a competing product, manufactured by Genencor International, infringed a Novozymes patent granted in 2005. At issue

No “Reasonable Apprehension of Suit” Where Patents Issued, Statements Made By Defendant and Previous Litigation

In a decision further defining what constitutes “reasonable apprehension of suit” sufficient to confer jurisdiction under the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. 2201(a), the District Court held that the combination of the company’s history of filing lawsuits not directly related to the patents-in-suit, a lawsuit brought by the declaratory judgment defendant against a former employee

Delaware District Court Judge Approved by Senate Committee

It is reported out of Washington today (and also in the Congressional Record ) that the Senate Committee on the Judiciary voted in favor of the nomination of United States District Court Judge Kent A. Jordan to fill a vacancy on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Judge Jordan currently sits on the United States

Advice-of-Counsel Defense Waives Communications with “All” Counsel

In the latest twist to the post-Echostar waiver debate, Judge Farnan has issued an opinion stating that a party asserting the advice-of-counsel defense to willful infringment waives the attorney-client privilege concerning communications with both opinion counsel and trial counsel. In the July 28th decision, the Court noted that, based on the Federal Circuit’s recent In

Court Finds No Inequitable Conduct

In Becton Dickinson and Co. v. Tyco Healthcare Group LP, the Court again demonstrated the difficulty of being successful raising an inequitable conduct defense. After a jury finding of willful infringement and validity, the Court held a bench trial on Tyco’s inequitable conduct defense. Tyco’s defense was grounded in the argument that Becton Dickinson failed

Our Inaugural Post

The District of Delaware has long been a center for intellectual property litigation, drawing parties and law firms from across the nation to the federal courthouse in Wilmington. In 2005, intellectual property filings – patent, copyright, and trademark – outpaced all non-prisoner civil filings in Delaware. Nearly fifteen percent of the dockets of Delaware's four