Posts Tagged: "vacatur"

Claim Construction in Bankruptcy Court? Revisiting Vacatur in Patent Litigation

While many patent litigators have no plans to litigate in bankruptcy court, it is a possibility if the infringer of a client’s patent files for bankruptcy. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin recently conducted a Markman hearing. How did that happen?  After being sued for patent infringement in district court, the alleged infringer sought refuge in the bankruptcy court, staying the district court litigation. The plaintiff then filed a claim in the defendant’s bankruptcy case, which ultimately triggered the bankruptcy court’s jurisdiction. While rare, other bankruptcy courts have conducted claim construction proceedings. As discussed herein, the bankruptcy court ultimately granted a joint request for vacatur, prompting us to revisit the doctrine of vacatur.

CAFC Dismisses Appeal as Moot, Prost Dissents in Part

On January 7, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) dismissed ABS Global’s appeal from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) as moot. Cytonome/st, LLC had disavowed its ability to challenge a district court’s summary judgment that ABS did not infringe claims of the patent in suit and ABS did not establish that it engaged in or had “sufficiently concrete plans to engage in activities not covered by” Cytonome’s disavowal (ABS Global, Inc. v. Cytonome/st, LLC), said the court. The majority denied ABS’s request for vacatur and Chief Judge Prost wrote separately to dissent on the issue of vacatur.

Judgment With Prejudice is Res Judicata and not Vacated Even if Mooted by Later Reexamination

Cardpool, Inc., v. Plastic Jungle, Inc., NKA Cardflo Inc. (Fed. Cir. Apr. 5, 2016) (Before Newman, Reyna, and Wallach, J.) (Opinion for the court, Newman, J.)(Federal Circuit held dismissal with prejudice operates as res judicata for the same cause of action even if a subsequent reexamination amends claims.).

JUST IN: Federal Circuit Denies Vacatur in USPTO Rules Case

Earlier today the Chief Judge Paul Michel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an Order declaring the pending appeal of Dr. Tafas and GlaxoSmithKline moot due to the fact that USPTO Director David Kappos has withdrawn the rules. The Federal Circuit per Judge Michel, however, denied the motion of the USPTO and GlaxoSmithKline to…

Tafas Objects to Vacatur in Claims and Continuations Appeal

Late this evening attorneys representing Dr. Triantafyllos Tafas filed a Reply to Motion for Dismissal of Appeal and Request for Remand. In this filing Tafas points out that the decision made by USPTO Director David Kappos to withdraw the claims and continuations rules does moot the appeal, there is a difference between mooting an appeal and vacating an underlying district…