Posts Tagged: laches
Are 5% of All U.S. Issued Patents Presumed to Be Unenforceable Under Laches Due to Their Priority Claims?
Laches is an equitable defense that may be raised in a patent-related proceeding. If a defending party can show that a patent holder exhibited unreasonable delay that …
Federal Circuit Affirms District Court Decision Blocking Poultry Chiller Patent Suit Due to Equitable Intervening Rights
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) on Friday upheld an Arkansas district court’s decision to grant Morris & Associate Inc.’s motion …
Judge Allows Zorro Copyright Claims to Move Forward Against Original Zorro Copyright Owner
On Friday, May 11th, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila entered an order deciding motions made in a copyright case involving competing musical productions based on the …
CAFC Remands Medinol Patent Suit Against Cordis After SCOTUS Overturns Laches Finding
On Thursday, April 20th, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a decision in Medinol Ltd. v. Cordis Corporation et. al. which vacated and remanded …
Equitable Estoppel Requires Claim Scope Sufficiently Similar to Earlier Claims
Equitable estoppel does not bar assertion of patent claims later amended by reexamination when those new claims differ in scope from earlier claims in the patent that …
The Year in Patents: The Top 10 Patent Stories from 2017
It is that time once again when we look back on the previous year in preparation to close the final chapter of 2017 in order move fresh into …
Equitable Estoppel After the Loss of Laches from SCA v. First Quality
Equitable estoppel may be appropriate for the defendant in SCA v. First Quality since the plaintiff was silent for years after the defendant asserted invalidity (possibly fulfilling …
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.... …
Estoppel: The Equitable Defense Remaining After SCA Hygiene Products?*
The remaining vitality of estoppel as a defense against patent infringement after SCA Hygiene Products is also not a hypothetical question. Indeed, the issue of estoppel remains …
Supreme Court Eliminates Key Defense in Many Patent Infringement Suits
In a strong reversal of the Federal Circuit, the US Supreme Court held in SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v First Quality Baby Products, LLC, No. 15-927 (March 21, 2017), …
Supreme Court says laches is no defense to patent infringement
The fact that laches cannot be used as a defense to a patent infringement action brought during the statute of limitations is most definitely a pro-patent decision. …
Supreme Court Decides SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products
On Tuesday, March 21st, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in SCA Hygiene Products Aktiebolag v. First Quality Baby Products, LLC, a case which looked …
The Equitable Defense of Laches: SCA Hygiene Products v. First Quality Baby Products
The equitable defense of laches has been a useful tool for defendants in intellectual property litigation for over a hundred years, but a recent case in the …
The Uncertain Future of Laches in Patent Litigation
The stage is now set for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the future of laches in patent litigation. If the Court closely follows its analysis …
Supreme Court to Weigh In on Extraterritorial Scope of Patent Law and Laches
On the heels of a busy term last year, the stage is set for the Supreme Court to review two more important issues regarding utility patents during …
