Seth Heller

is an Associate in Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider’s Intellectual Property practice in thier Washington, DC office, where he is a member of the firm’s Intellectual Property group. Seth’s practice focuses on US district court patent litigation and appeals, with a particular emphasis in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and the life sciences. His experience includes handling pre-litigation client counseling and transactional matters including patent license and settlement agreements. Additionally, Seth also has experience with Hatch-Waxman and other complex litigation.

For more information or to Speak to Seth, please visit his Firm Web Page.

Recent Articles by Seth Heller

End of Laches Might Increase Declaratory Judgment Actions

Without laches, accused infringers might more frequently invoke declaratory judgment to clear their products and services upfront rather than tolerate a looming threat of suit for years…. The Supreme Court’s recent decision in SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC (Mar. 21, 2017) eliminated the equitable defense of laches in patent cases. While time will reveal the impact of the SCA decision, elimination of laches, an equitable defense against “unreasonable, prejudicial delay in commencing suit,” Id. at 3 (citing Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.(2014), provides greater security to patent owners who assert claims several years after discovering potential infringement. Conversely, the decision removes one shield—albeit a relatively modest shield—from the accused infringer’s armament of potential defenses.

June 19, 2017

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