In Enzo Life Sciences, Inc. v. Life Technologies Corp., C.A. No. 12-105-LPS (D. Del. Nov. 5, 2015), Chief Judge Stark granted the defendants’ request to increase the number of prior art references from six to twelve per asserted claim as to one of the patents-in-suit. According to the Court, the plaintiff’s lack of clarity over the…

In April 2015, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed into law one of the most highly specialized arbitration statutes ever passed: the Delaware Rapid Arbitration Act (hereafter the “Act” or the “DRAA”). The Act, a response to the request by Delaware’s corporate citizenry for a modern and useful arbitration statute, is the work of an interdisciplinary team…

In Dragon Intellectual Property, LLC v. Apple, Inc., C.A. No. 13-2058-RGA (D. Del. Nov. 13, 2015), Judge Andrews granted a motion for withdrawal filed by counsel for the plaintiff, Dragon Intellectual Property, LLC (“Dragon”), in a number of related patent infringement actions, but only after the moving counsel first satisfied concerns raised by the defendants. The…

In Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Actavis Inc., C.A. No. 14-1381-RGA (D. Del. Nov. 17, 2015), Judge Andrews overruled objections to a report and recommendation concluding that the patent-in-suit should be found invalid due to lack of patent-eligible subject matter. The patent was directed to a method for treating renally impaired patients with a dosage of oxymorphone.…

In Two-way Media Ltd. v. Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, C.A. No. 14-1006 (D. Del. Nov. 17, 2015), Judge Andrews ruled on disputed terms in the parties’ proposed protective order, prohibiting the plaintiff from sharing highly confidential information received from one defendant with defendants in the related cases, but refusing to extend the prosecution bar to cover…

This update provides short updates on judicial decisions, trends, and notable events in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, traditionally one of the three busiest jurisdictions for intellectual property litigation.

Discussion In Courtesy Prods. LLC v. Hamilton Beach Brands, Inc., C.A. No. 13-2012-SLR-SRF (D. Del. Oct. 20, 2015), Magistrate Judge Fallon considered a motion to dismiss plaintiff’s willful infringement claims and a motion to dismiss defendant’s inequitable conduct defense and counterclaim. Judge Fallon recommended denying defendant’s renewed motion to dismiss plaintiff’s willful infringement claims and granting…

Discussion In TruePosition, Inc. v. Polaris Wireless, Inc., C.A. No. 12-646-RGA (D. Del. Oct. 19, 2015), Judge Andrews denied defendant’s 35 U.S.C. § 285 motion for attorneys’ fees. Although defendant, the prevailing party in the underlying case, argued that fees were appropriate because of improper motivation, frivolousness, and objective unreasonableness on the part of plaintiff, the…

Discussion In W.L. Gore and Assoc., Inc. v. C.R. Bard, Inc., C.A. No. 11-515-LPS-CJB (Oct. 23, 2015), Magistrate Judge Burke considered defendants’ motion to exclude certain opinions of plaintiff’s damages expert on the grounds that the expert’s opinion on a reasonable royalty rate was based on a conversation that she had with plaintiffs’ technical expert on…

Discussion In Elm 3DS Innovations, LLC v. SK Hynix Inc. et al, C.A. No. 13-1674-RGA (D. Del. Oct. 26, 2015), C.A. No. 14-1432-LPS-CJB (D. Del. Oct. 16, 2015), Magistrate Judge Burke recommended that defendants’ motion to dismiss claims of pre-suit induced infringement be denied in a decision labeled a “very close call.” While defendants argued that…