Delaware Intellectual Property Law Update
March 6, 2018
Publication| Intellectual Property
Welcome to the latest edition of the Richards, Layton & Finger Intellectual Property Law Update. As always, if you have questions about any of the decisions listed below or the District of Delaware in general, please let us know.
Hearing Held on Judicial Nominations
On February 14, 2018, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing on the nominations of Colm F. Connolly (to the seat formerly held by Sue L. Robinson) and Maryellen Noreika (to the seat formerly held by Senior Judge Gregory M. Sleet) to be United States District Judges for the District of Delaware.
Senior Judge Sleet Announces Retirement and Court Announces Case Assignment Plan Revisions
The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has announced that Senior Judge Sleet, who took senior status last year, will retire in the fall of 2018. Judge Sleet will continue to be assigned new civil cases, but certain cases on his docket have begun to be reassigned to other judges. According to the announcement, the cases to be reassigned primarily will be those scheduled for trial in 2018. Starting this spring, Judge Sleet will no longer be assigned new criminal cases.
Read the Announcement >>
District of Delaware Bench & Bar Conference Announced
The Delaware Chapter of the Federal Bar Association has announced that the District of Delaware Bench & Bar Conference will take place on May 3 and 4, 2018, at the Hotel du Pont. The conference will feature general interest plenary programs as well as bankruptcy, criminal, employment, and IP panel discussions. Speakers and panelists include judges from the United States Courts of Appeal for the Third and Federal Circuits, as well as the United States District Courts for the Districts of Delaware, California, Texas, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Read the Agenda >>
Chief Judge Stark Denies Motion to Reconsider Stricken Infringement Contentions
In Galderma Laboratories, L.P. v. Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC, No. 16-207-LPS (D. Del. Jan. 22, 2018), Chief Judge Stark denied the plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider the Court’s decision to strike their supplemental contentions of literal infringement, which were served after the close of fact discovery. According to the plaintiffs, reconsideration was appropriate because, after the motion to strike briefing, the defendants’ expert responded to the literal infringement contentions in his rebuttal report, constituting “newly discovered facts” that negated any suggestion of prejudice.
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Chief Judge Stark Denies Motion to Strike Infringement Contentions
In Wi-LAN Inc. v. VIZIO, Inc., No. 15-788-LPS (D. Del. Jan. 26, 2018), and related action, Chief Judge Stark denied the defendants’ motion to strike the plaintiff’s final infringement contentions. The defendants argued that the contentions did not explain how the excerpts of source code from the accused products related to the limitations of the asserted claims.
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Senior Judge Sleet Denies Motion to Transfer BPCIA Actions
In Genentech, Inc. v. Amgen Inc., No. 17-1407-GMS (D. Del. Jan. 22, 2018), and related action, Senior Judge Sleet denied Amgen Inc.’s motion to transfer two BPCIA patent infringement actions brought by Genentech, Inc. and City of Hope (together, “Genentech”) to the Central District of California, where a declaratory judgment action filed by Amgen regarding the same controversy was then pending.
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Magistrate Judge Burke Compels Supplemental Depositions of Inventors
In Integra LifeSciences Corp. v. HyperBranch Medical Technology, Inc., No. 15-819-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Jan. 24, 2018), Magistrate Judge Burke denied the plaintiffs’ emergency motion to quash, and for a protective order to prevent, supplemental depositions of two inventors, instead granting the defendant’s request to compel the depositions.
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Magistrate Judge Burke Recommends Granting Motion to Dismiss with Prejudice
In Amgen Inc. v. Coherus Biosciences Inc., No. 17-546-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Dec. 7, 2017), Magistrate Judge Burke recommended that the Court grant with prejudice Coherus Biosciences Inc.’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The plaintiff, Amgen Inc., had accused Coherus’ manufacturing process of infringing the asserted patent, all the claims of which included a limitation requiring one of three pairs of salts.
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Magistrate Judge Burke Recommends Dismissal of Indirect and Willful Infringement Claims
In Valmont Industries, Inc. v. Lindsay Corp., No. 15-042-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Jan. 22, 2018), Magistrate Judge Burke recommended that the Court grant in part Lindsay Corp.’s motion to dismiss the direct, induced, contributory, and willful infringement claims of Valmont Industries, Inc.’s amended complaint.
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Judge Burke Denies Motion to Transfer
In Genedics, LLC v. Meta Company, No. 17-1062-CJB (D. Del. Jan. 8, 2018), Magistrate Judge Burke denied Meta Company’s motion to transfer this case to the Northern District of California on grounds of convenience. Genedics, LLC (a Massachusetts company with its principal place of business in that state) accused Meta (a Delaware corporation with offices only in San Mateo, California) of infringing patents directed to augmented reality headset displays.
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Chief Judge Stark Denies Motion to Dismiss Hatch-Waxman Complaint
In Insys Therapeutics, Inc. v. Alkem Laboratories Ltd., No. 17-1419-LPS (D. Del. Jan. 23, 2018), Chief Judge Stark denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim.
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