Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Tagged: Litigation

The “Dos” and “Don’ts” of Litigation Hold Notices: Deconstructing the Effective Litigation Hold Notice

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Posted in Litigation Preparedness and Strategies

On November 11, 2011

The “Dos” and “Don’ts” of litigation hold notices were discussed at the Fifth Annual Gibbons E-Discovery Conference on November 3, 2011. The distinguished panel included the Honorable John J. Hughes, U.S.M.J. (Ret.), the Director and Chair of the firm’s E-Discovery Task Force Mark Sidoti, and Melissa DeHonney, an associate in the Gibbons Business & Commercial Litigation Department and member of the firm’s E-Discovery Task Force.

Increased Patent Litigation in the District of Delaware?

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Posted in Patent

On November 3, 2011

Following last month’s enactment of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”), significant limitations on multidefendant infringement suits are now in effect. Specifically, the joinder provision of the AIA, 35 U.S.C. § 299, permits accused infringers to be joined in one action only if any right to relief is asserted against the parties jointly, severally, or arising out of the same transactions or occurrences; and, common questions of fact as to all defendants will arise in the case. Simply put, patentees can no longer sue multiple defendants in the same litigation based solely on allegations that they each have infringed the patent(s)- in-suit.

The Patent Pilot Program Takes Off Around the Country

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Posted in Patent

On October 20, 2011

Patent litigation has some eccentricities that, some say, require special attention in the court system. One historical effort to address this was the creation of the Federal Circuit in 1982 and the exclusive jurisdiction it possesses to hear patent litigation appeals from all district courts around the nation. This exclusive jurisdiction based on subject matter and not geographic location is fairly unique in the judicial system. Patent litigation often involves complex technical issues to determine patent invalidity and infringement, unique procedural devices (e.g. Markman hearings), and intricate legal issues with technical and economic underpinnings (inequitable conduct, price erosion, lost profits, etc.). For these reasons, patent litigants often prefer to have an experienced judge hear and manage the dispute so that the fairest outcome is had. To address and analyze these and other issues, on January 4, 2011, Congress created the “Patent Pilot Program.”

Gibbons to Host 5th Annual E-Discovery Conference – November 3, 2011

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Posted in Technology Developments and Issues

On October 13, 2011

The Gibbons E-Discovery Task Force will host its fifth annual full day E-Discovery Conference for corporate counsel and information technology professionals on November 3, 2011, in the firm’s Newark, NJ office. Devoted to the latest developments in electronic discovery and corporate information management, this program will include speakers who are among the most respected names in the e-discovery field, including former United States Magistrate Judge John Hughes, e-discovery authority Michael Arkfeld, and representatives of leading corporations and e-discovery service providers. Among the Gibbons attorneys who will present and moderate panels are Task Force Chair, Mark S. Sidoti and Task Force members, Paul E. Asfendis, Melissa DeHonney, Luis J. Diaz, Phillip J. Duffy, Scott J. Etish, Jennifer A. Hradil, Jeffrey L. Nagel, and Mara E. Zazzali-Hogan.

Litigation Expenses Alone Insufficient to Satisfy “Domestic Industry” Requirement Says ITC and Federal Circuit Affirms

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Posted in International Trade Commission / Patent

On October 10, 2011

Earlier this week the Federal Circuit affirmed an International Trade Commission (“ITC”) decision by refusing to find a patent owner complainant’s litigation expenses satisfied the “domestic industry” requirement of 19 U.S.C § 337. The Court’s decision in John Mezzalingua Assocs. (d/b/a PPC, Inc.) v. International Trade Comm’n, 2010-1536 (Fed. Cir. October 4, 2011) is a blow to ITC complainants, in particular, non-practicing entities intent on relying solely on patent litigation expenses to establish the domestic industry requirement of § 337.

Patent Reform Act of 2011 on the Horizon

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Posted in Biotech / Patent / Pharmaceuticals / USPTO

On September 7, 2011

On Tuesday, September 6, 2011, the Senate invoked cloture on H.R. 1249, also known as the America Invents Act, making it almost a done deal for passage of this Act. One reason that this bill has succeeded over its predecessors is that, with one major exception, there is little difference between the House and Senate versions. The passage of H.R. 1249 will mark the culmination of a 6-year process to pass patent reform legislation that started with H.R. 2795

DuPont v. Kolon: A Lesson In How To Avoid Sanctions For Spoliation Of Evidence

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Posted in E-Discovery: Legal Decisions and Court Rules

On September 6, 2011

Two recent decisions in the same case illustrate that, when it comes to imposing sanctions for spoliation of evidence, what matters is not simply whether you’ve intentionally deleted relevant evidence, but how you go about deleting it, and what the record reflects about your intentions. Although both the plaintiff and the defendant in E.I. du Pont De Nemours and Co. v. Kolon Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 3:09cv58, demonstrated that the other intentionally destroyed relevant evidence, as is detailed below, the Court sanctioned only defendant Kolon Industries, Inc. (“Kolon”) based on its manifest bad faith (read the decision here). As is discussed in an earlier post on Gibbons’ E-Discovery Law Alert (which you can read here), plaintiff E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (“DuPont”) escaped a similar fate based on its demonstrable good faith. In short, this case teaches that the intentional deletion of relevant evidence does not per se lead to sanctions. Rather, the parties’ conduct — or misconduct, as the case may be — must be judged contextually.

Courts Rely Upon Jury Instructions to Discourage Juror Use of Social Media and Electronic Devices

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Posted in E-Discovery: Legal Decisions and Court Rules / Litigation Preparedness and Strategies

On April 4, 2011

The explosion of social media and the universal availability of electronic devices have presented a host of courtroom issues the judicial system must address, ranging from substantive legal questions like the admissibility of Facebook accounts and Twitter postings, to more ministerial issues such as the extent to which electronic devices may be utilized by counsel in the courtroom. While different courts have reached varied conclusions on these questions, courts have uniformly rejected any attempt by jurors to use technology to research a case or to post information about a case to social media sites, and increasingly use pre-trial and post-closing jury instructions.

Direct Infringement Liability May Be Possible Without Possession of All the Claimed Elements

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Posted in Patent

On March 10, 2011

Following a recent Federal Circuit decision, a patentee might now be able to assert a system claim against a single infringer for operating a distributed system, rather than naming joint infringers hosting portions of the distributed system. This is significant for entities that do business on-line, particularly enterprises with a cloud computing business model. Whereas in the past a patentee may have had to allege direct infringement among joint infringers (e.g., individual users, enterprises, and information technology system providers), and perhaps prove vicarious liability, now it may be possible to bring a direct infringement action against a sole infringer that might not be in possession of the complete system. E-commerce businesses, web-based providers of business services, providers of software as a service, electronic market makers, and other enterprises that use third-party server farms to host part, or all, of their system might now be named as the sole infringer. A patentee could perhaps now sue a competitor for infringement without having to sue the infringer’s IT provider. This could be particularly advantageous in cases where the patentee and the infringer share providers, and will permit the patentee to sue without jeopardizing its own business relationship with the provider.

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