Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Res Judicata

Supreme Court Will Not Review Bar for Proving Inequitable Conduct

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Posted in Patent

On October 24, 2013

We have previously reported on the Federal Circuit’s en banc decision in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton Dickinson & Co., 649 F.3d 1276 (Fed. Cir. 2011) issued on May 25, 2011. In that decision, the Federal Circuit heightened the standard required to show that a patent holder committed inequitable conduct during the prosecution of the patent at issue. Prior to Therasense, an accused infringer asserting inequitable conduct as a defense had to show that the withheld information or false statements were material and the patent applicant intended to deceive the USPTO. Materiality and intent were analyzed on a sliding scale, where intent could be inferred if the withheld information was considered highly material.

Cancellation of Claims by USPTO During Reexam is Binding in Pending District Court Infringement Litigation

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Posted in Patent

On August 26, 2013

Last month, the Federal Circuit addressed the question of “whether, under the reexamination statute, the cancellation of claims by the PTO is binding in pending district court infringement litigation.” Fresenius USA, Inc. v. Baxter Int’l, Inc., 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 13484, at *13 (Fed. Cir. July 2, 2013). The Federal Circuit interpreted the reexamination statute to have a binding effect on concurrent litigation, and thus terminated a pending litigation where the same patent claims were cancelled during reexamination. Id. at *43. Accordingly here, the Federal Circuit held that the PTO’s invalidity decisions trump the prior district court ruling.

New Jersey Appellate Division Holds That the Entire Controversy Doctrine Does Not Reach Tangentially-Related Claims Pending in Another Court, Despite Common Facts

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Posted in General Litigation

On April 30, 2012

In Alpha Beauty Distributors, Inc. v. Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. the New Jersey Appellate Division reversed a trial court’s dismissal of an action under the Entire Controversy Doctrine, finding that the dismissed action was not part of the same “core controversy” as a related federal-court proceeding. Plaintiff Alpha Beauty Distributors is owned by Bebert Azran. After purchasing Alpha from Noel and Reid Kleinman, Azran discovered fraud and breaches of fiduciary duty, and sued the Kleinmans in Federal District Court on behalf of himself and Alpha . The federal action centered on allegations that the Kleinmans had damaged Alpha and Azran “through a course of self-dealing and conversion of corporate assets.” Among other things, the federal complaint alleged that the Kleinman’s had given certain of Alpha’s customers improper credits, but it did not encompass any claims against such customers for the improper credits.

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