Judge Farnan: Two-Phase Opinion Issued in LGD v. AUO

Judge Farnan recently issued an opinion in LG Display Co., Ltd. v. AU Optronics Corp., C.A. No. 06-726-JJF (D. Del. Apr. 30, 2010). LG Display (“LGD”) had alleged infringement of four patents, while AU Optronics (“AU”) counter-claimed for infringement of another four patents. Judge Farnan bifurcated the trial into two one-week portions, the first portion

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: Motions in Limine

In addressing various motions in limine filed in a case set to be tried to the bench this month, Judge Farnan denied the pending motions in limine all addressing the exclusion of evidence at trial. UCB, Inc. v. KV Pharmaceutical Co., C.A. No. 08-223-JJF, Memo. Op. (D. Del. Mar. 9, 2010). In one motion, plaintiffs

Judge Farnan: Claim construction in Leader v. Facebook

In Leader Technologies, Inc. v. Facebook, Inc., C.A. No. 08-862-JJF (D. Del. Mar. 9, 2010), Judge Farnan recently construed claim terms related to a patent involving “the ‘management and storage of electronic information,’ and specifically relat[ing] to ‘new structures and methods for creating relationships between users, applications, files and folders.’” Plaintiff asked Judge Farnan to

Judge Farnan: Federal Circuit Rule 11 does not confer exclusive jurisdiction over the record on appeal

In Honeywell International Inc., et al. v. Nikon Corporation, et al., C.A. No. 04-1337-JJF (D. Del. Mar. 2, 2010), Judge Farnan considered defendants’ motion to unseal documents related to the Court’s decision granting summary judgment for invalidity. Id. at 1. Plaintiffs’ subsequently filed a motion to strike arguing that the Federal Circuit has exclusive jurisdiction

Judge Farnan: Failure to amend expert report to include opinion testified to at trial results in opinion being stricken from the record

In a post-trial evidentiary opinion of phase I of a bench trial in which defendants asserted patents against plaintiff, Judge Farnan recently determined that certain testimony should be excluded because plaintiff failed to make adequate disclosure pretrial. LG Display Co., Ltd., v. AU Optronics Corp., et al., C.A. 06-726-JJF (D. Del. Feb. 16, 2010). One

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: What is “Unpatented” for Purposes of a False Marking Claim?

Is a product “unpatented” for purposes of pleading a false marking claim under Section 292 where it is covered by at least one claim of one of the patents listed on the product’s label? The District of Delaware, following the Federal Circuit decision in Clontech Labs, Inc. v. Invitrogen Corp., 406 F.3d 1347 (Fed. Cir.

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: Privilege Issues

Privilege disputes are often a hot topic of intellectual property litigation. In WebXChange Inc. v. Dell, Inc., Judge Farnan ruled on a number of disputes sounding in the assertion of the attorney-client privilege, attorney work product doctrine and clergy-communicant privilege. C.A. Nos. 08-132-JJF, 08-133-JJF, Memo. Op. (D. Del. Feb. 16, 2010). One dispute involved the

Judge Farnan: Motion to Transfer Denied in ANDA Case

In Pfizer, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., C.A. No. 09-742-JJF (D. Del. Jan. 20, 2010), Judge Farnan explained a recent trend among Delaware ANDA plaintiffs: when jurisdiction in Delaware is not a sure thing, ANDA plaintiffs will bring suit in Delaware, and then immediately bring a second suit in another “safe” forum where jurisdiction is assured.

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: Expert Testimony Allowed Under Liberal Third Circuit Standard

Following the Third Circuit’s “liberal” approach to the admission of expert testimony, the Court found that the defendant’s trade secret expert was qualified to testify regarding the electrochemistry field. Roche Diagnostics Operations, Inc. v. LifeScan Inc., C.A. No. 07-753-JJF, Memo. Order (D. Del. Jan. 29, 2010). Specifically, the Court held that the proffered expert’s “education,

Judge Joseph J. Farnan, Jr.: Addressing Motions to Amend

Judge Farnan recently addressed motions to amend in two related cases. In WebXchange Inc. v. Dell, Inc. and WebXchange Inc. v. FedEx Corporation, the defendants sought to amend their answers (after the amendment deadline) to “add flesh” to their inequitable conduct affirmative defenses and counterclaims. C.A. No. 08-132-JJF, Memo. Op. (D. Del. Jan. 20, 2010);