Federal Circuit passes torch from juries to judges for willful infringement determinations *

USA - June 25 2012
Just in time for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, the Federal Circuit, in Bard Peripheral Vascular v. W.L. Gore & Assocs., passes the torch from juries to judges on willful infringement determinations in patent litigation.

Co-authors: Ryan McBeth, Jeffrey S. Whittle, Alan Albright.

Making therasense of the inequitable conduct doctrine *

USA - June 1 2011
In a split in its decision (6-1-4), the Federal Circuit's May 25, 2011 en banc opinion in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Co. attempts to unify the patch work of opinions on inequitable conduct, which is a judicially-created doctrine rooted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s cases on the doctrine of "unclean hands" where egregious conduct had occurred.

Co-authors: Linda L. Morgan, Christopher A. Shield, Michael R. Samardzija, Ph.D., Jeffrey S. Whittle.

Federal Circuit breaks the 25 percent rule of thumb *

USA - January 12 2011
Last week, in Uniloc USA, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., Nos. 2010-1035, 2010-1055 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 4, 2011) (hereinafter, "Uniloc"), the Federal Circuit declared that the "25 percent rule of thumb," which has been widely used for calculating damages in patent infringement cases, is "fundamentally flawed."

Co-authors: Christopher A. Shield, Michael R. Samardzija, Ph.D., Jeffrey S. Whittle, Robert D. Ayers Jr., Alan Albright.

Federal Circuit clears the way for large false patent marking fines *

USA - January 6 2010
A little case about construction stilts could mean big fines for companies found liable under the false patent marking statute.

Co-authors: Jeffrey S. Whittle, Albert B. Kimball Jr., Ashley L. Kirk, John F. Luman III, Glenn A. Ballard Jr..