Egregious misconduct – Examining the behavior behind an unenforceable patent

Description

Abstract: In 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that certain acts of “egregious misconduct” by a patent applicant can eventually render a subsequently issued patent unenforceable. This article examines one recent case that provided a clear example of this. When a telecommunications company sued another for patent infringement, the court held that the patents were unenforceable because the inventor had submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office a declaration with false statements. A sidebar looks at a different case with a different result. Intellect Wireless, Inc. v. HTC Corp., No. 2012-1658, Oct. 9, 2013 (Fed. Cir.) Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson & Co., Nos. 2008-1511, -1512, -1513, -1514, -1595, May 25, 2011 (Fed. Cir.) Network Signatures, Inc. v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance, 2012-1492, Sept. 24, 2013 (Fed. Cir.)