Case not exceptional where objectionable conduct was previously considered in granting sanctions motion

Khan v. Hemosphere is a nonprecendential case decided on August 13, 2020, on appeal from the Northern District of Illinois. Pro se plaintiffs Khans “alleged that the defendant corporations, hospitals, and physicians directly and indirectly infringed” their patent. The Khans sued “three hundred defendants.” The district court dismissed without prejudice …

Denial of fees vacated where plaintiff filed multiple suits to obtain low-value settlements

Electronic Communication Technologies v. ShoppersChoice.com was decided on July 1, 2020, on appeal from the Southern District of Florida. The district court granted Defendant ShoppersChoice’s motion for judgment on the pleadings invalidating independent claim 11 of Plaintiff ECT’s asserted patent. The Federal Circuit affirmed. Subsequently, the district court denied ShopperChoice’s …

Fees reversed for failure to show facts of Plaintiff’s unreasonable positions at the PTAB and district court

Munchkin v. Luv N’ Care was decided on June 8, 2020, on appeal from the Central District of California. Plaintiff Munchkin sued Defendant Luv N’ Care for unfair competition, trademark infringement, trade dress infringement, and patent infringement. Subsequently, Luv N’ Care filed an IPR petition at the PTAB, which was …

On appeal, a party cannot recover fees incurred at the PTAB under Section 285

Amneal Pharm v. Almirall was decided on June 4, 2020, on appeal from the PTAB. After Amneal filed a petition for an IPR challenging Almirall’s patent, Almirall sued Amneal in the district court on a different patent. The parties engaged in settlement discussions, in which Almirall offered to enter into …

Defendant was prevailing party for fees after invalidating asserted claims at the PTAB

Dragon Intellectual Property v. DISH Network was decided on April 21, 2020 on appeal from the District of Delaware. After plaintiff Dragon sued defendant DISH for patent infringement, Dish filed a petition seeking inter partes review of the asserted patent. Following a claim construction hearing at the district court, the …

Defendant is not prevailing party for fees where plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case after invalidity at the USPTO

O.F. Mossberg & Sons v. Timney Triggers was decided on April 13, 2020, on appeal from the District of Connecticut. Plaintiff Mossberg brought a suit for patent infringement against defendant Timney. While the case was stayed, the USPTO in an ex parte reexamination “rejected all pending claims over the cited …

Stipulated dismissal with prejudice may form basis for attorney fees under Rule 54

Keith Manufacturing v. Butterfield was decided on April 7, 2020, on appeal from the District of Oregon. Plaintiff Keith Manufacturing brought a lawsuit against Defendant and former employee Butterfield after Butterfield filed a patent application. Keith alleged that the patent was based on inventions made during Butterfield’s employment and sought …

Summary judgement of noninfringement vacated because settlement agreement mooted the case

Serta Simmons Bedding v. Casper Sleep was decided on February 13, 2020 on appeal from the Southern District of New York. In September 2017, plaintiff Serta filed a patent infringement lawsuit against defendant Casper. While Casper’s motions for summary judgment of non-infringement were pending, the parties executed a settlement agreement. …

What We Learned About Patent Remedies In 2019

While there was no marquee patent remedies decision in 2019, the courts still decided some important issues, especially in the context of reasonable royalties. 1. Expenses under Section 145 does not permit the recovery of USPTO attorney fees Under Section 145 of the Patent Act, when an applicant appeals an adverse …

Denial of summary judgment of invalidity does not conclusively show objective reasonableness regarding fees

Eko Brands v. Adrian Rivera Maynez was decided on January 13, 2020, on appeal from the Western District of Washington. Plaintiff Eko filed a declaratory judgment and an infringement action against defendant ARM. On summary judgment, the district court granted Eko declaratory judgment of noninfringement but denied the motion as …