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

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