United States did not waive immunity for copyright infringement claim brought by prisoner In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit held the Court of Federal Claims correctly dismissed a copyright infringement suit against the United States for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff is a federal prisoner who created various coyprightable works while in federal prison. He brought suit alleging copyright infringement after his works were distributed […] Continue Reading →
District court’s order dismissing the action with prejudice held to be nonfinal due to counterclaims In a decision Thursday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's denial of a preliminary injunction, and held it did not have jurisdiction over the remainder of the appeal because there was no final judgment. It was undisputed there was no infringement under the district court's claim construction of the single element at issue. After […] Continue Reading →
Eleventh Circuit: No DJ jurisdiction in copyright case when copyright unregistered In a recent decision, the Eleventh Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment in a copyright infringement declaratory judgment action. The court determined that the district court was without subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the alleged infringer's declaratory judgment action. This was because the district court would have lacked jurisdiction to hear the […] Continue Reading →
Patent exhaustion does not create a cuse of action; dismissal affirmed In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's decision dismissing a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The plaintiff brought suit when it believed the patent holder had fraudulently concealed a second licensee of the same patents. The plaintiff was a licensee of the defendant patent holder and therefore could […] Continue Reading →
Covenant not to sue removes jurisdiction despite lingering Hatch-Waxman exclusivity issues In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's decision involving declaratory judgment jurisdiction in the context of abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) and a related covenant-not-to-sue involving one patent at issue. The court affirmed a covenant-not-to-sue coupled with a stipulation of validity and enforceability removed any case or controversy required for declaratory […] Continue Reading →
No case or controversy when patentee doesn’t even know of potentially infringing product In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit upheld a district court's decision that Article III jurisdiction did not exist in a case where a potential infringer was seeking a declaration of noninfringement. The district court granted a motion to dismiss the under the Federal Circuit's pre-MedImmune reasonable apprehension of suit test, noting that there […] Continue Reading →
Tenth Circuit: MedImmune declaratory judgment jurisdiction test applies in trademark cases In a decision last week, the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court's decision that Article III jurisdiction did not exist over a declaratory judgment action in a trademark case. At issue was whether a triable case or controversy within the meaning of Article III existed in declaratory judgment action regarding trademark infringement. The district court, […] Continue Reading →
Second prong of declaratory judgment jurisdiction test survived MedImmune In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment of noninfringement and its related finding that the court had declaratory judgment jurisdiction. The court, for the first time since the Supreme Court's MedImmune decision, addressed the second prong of its pre-MedImmune declaratory judgment test. The court held this portion […] Continue Reading →
Fifth Circuit passes on eBay’s applicability in trademark cases In a decision last week, the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's conclusion it had subject matter jurisdiction over a trademark case, as well as its grant of a preliminary injunction. While the activities giving rise to the claim of trademark infringement took place in Mexico, they had a "substantial effect" on United States commerce, […] Continue Reading →
Offer of judgment providing full recovery mooted case, preventing opinion regarding spoliation In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit vacated a district court's order denying a declaratory judgment plaintiff attorney fees, but including a scathing description of alleged spoliation by the patentee/DJ defendant. The Federal Circuit held that the district court's decision was an improper advisory opinion, and therefore vacated with instructions to dismiss.The patentee, before bringing […] Continue Reading →