Jury Verdict: Facebook Prevails on Invalidity Claim

A jury recently returned a verdict in the battle between Leader Technologies, Inc. and Facebook. By its verdict, the jury found that Facebook literally infringed Leader’s ‘761 patent. But the jury also found that Facebook demonstrated the invalidity of the patent-in-suit, both on the grounds of prior public use and the on-sale bar. Leader Technologies,

Joseph J. Farnan: Fixing a Scrivener’s Error in IP Transfers

In one of his last acts as a judicial officer, now-retired district judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. issued a decision resolving a contractual ambiguity of major proportions. The underlying IP transfer agreement called for the conveyance of “patent rights” between the counterparties listed on “Schedule A.” The only problem was that Schedule A never existed;

Judge Farnan: Typographical error does not deprive plaintiff of standing to sue

After a jury trial returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff, Judge Farnan recently presided over a bench trial on the issue of plaintiff’s standing. The Dow Chemical Company v. Nova Chemicals Corporation (Canada), et al., C.A. 05-737-JJF (D. Del. July 30, 2010). Plaintiff and its subsidiary entered into an agreement to transfer certain patent

Joseph J. Farnan: Reverse Engineering Leads to Willfulness Judgment

District judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. recently issued a strongly worded decision on willfulness, one that all litigators – and in-house counsel – should heed. The Court initially ordered a retrial on willfulness following the Federal Circuit’s Seagate decision. In its subsequent post-trial decision, the Court made clear its thoughts on reverse engineering: “Faced with

Judge Farnan: Motion for preliminary injunction DENIED

Judge Farnan recently denied plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction related to handheld mobile computers. Symbol Technologies, Inc. v. Janam Technologies LLC, C.A. No. 08-340-JJF (D. Del. July 20, 2010). Judge Farnan found that plaintiff had shown a likelihood of success on the merits that two of plaintiff’s patents-at-issue were infringed. Id. at 16-17, 29.

Judge Farnan: Motion to amend complaint late in case GRANTED

In the ANDA case Sepracor Inc. v. Dey L.P. and Dey, Inc., C.A. 06-113-JJF (D. Del. July 15, 2010), Judge Farnan granted plaintiff’s motion to amend its complaint to add claims for damages after defendants began selling their generic product and to add defendants’ parent companies as parties. Although the original claims were ready for

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: Pleading a Copyright Infringement Action

Plaintiff filed a motion to dismiss a copyright infringement action over audio compression technology. Vianix LLC v. Nuance Communications, Inc., C.A. No. 09-348-JJF, Memo. Op. (D. Del. July 20, 2010). Defendant argued that plaintiff failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted because plaintiff “has not identified the specific original works” that

Joseph J. Farnan: Source Code for Future Products Must be Produced

Discovery disputes over the production of source code often involve thorny issues of confidentiality. But sometimes those disputes are more basic, such as when a party outright refuses to produce certain code. In a recent decision, district judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr. addressed this type of dispute, and came down in favor of production. On

Judge Farnan: Default Judgment Granted in Patent Infringement Case

On Tuesday, Judge Farnan granted a default judgment in a patent infringement case against Medical Skin Therapy Research, Inc. (“MSTR”). Tristrata Technologies filed suit againt MSTR on October 17, 2006 – three years, nine months, and thirteen days before the entry of default judgment. In that time, MSTR appears to have made no response at

Judge Farnan: Motion to Dismiss Granted Because Due To Plaintiff’s Lack of Standing

On Tuesday, Judge Farnan issued an opinion in Enhanced Security Research, LLC v. Juniper Networks, Inc., C.A. No. 09-871-JJF (D. Del. July 20, 2010), dismissing Plaintiff’s claims for lack of standing. The question was whether the plaintiff held enough of the rights under the patent to allow it to bring a claim at all. The