Federal Circuit Affirms B&I Victory for PetSmart in Patent Case

After hearing oral argument from David Swetnam-Burland on Monday, March 7, 2022, days later, on Thursday, March 10, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals summarily affirmed the dismissal of a patent infringement case brought by Modern Font Applications, LLC against PetSmart in the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah. After offering Modern Font...

Brann & Isaacson Secures Dismissal of Patent Case Against PetSmart

On January 4, 2021, Senior District Judge Bruce S. Jenkins of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah ordered the dismissal with prejudice of a patent infringement action filed by Modern Font Innovations against Brann & Isaacson client PetSmart. After hearing oral argument from partner David Swetnam-Burland, the judge ruled that Modern Font...

B&I Lawyers Prevail on Venue Motion for Major Retailer PetSmart

Just because your client is one of the largest multi-channel retailer for pet supplies in America doesn’t mean that it can be sued anywhere for patent infringement. On April 15, 2020, United States Senior District Judge Bruce S. Jenkins granted a motion to dismiss for improper venue filed by Brann & Isaacson client, PetSmart, in...

Federal Circuit Directs ITC To Consider Revoking Or Modifying Civil Penalty For Infringement of Invalid Patent

In a victory for Brann & Isaacson clients, DBN Holding, Inc. (formerly DeLorme Publishing Co.) and BDN LLC, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an opinion reversing and remanding the International Trade Commission’s decision not to rule on the merits of a petition asking the ITC to set aside a civil penalty order....

Supreme Court Sharply Limits Patent Forum–Shopping In TC Heartland

Today, May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court struck a powerful blow against forum–shopping in patent litigation and the related patent troll plague. In a concise opinion by Justice Thomas in TC Heartland v. Kraft Foods Group Brands, a unanimous Supreme Court held that a domestic corporation “resides” only in its State of incorporation for purpose...

What Happens In East Texas Definitely Doesn’t Stay There

This week has witnessed once again the oversized impact the Eastern District of Texas has in patent litigation—after all, that district was home to 44.2% of all patent cases filed in 2015 and 35.4% of all patent cases filed in 2016, with Judge Rodney Gilstrap presiding over an astounding one–quarter of all patent cases filed...

Patent Trolls Still Can’t Find A Way Through Alice’s Looking Glass

We (and others) have written frequently and at length about the impact of Alice v. CLS Bank on patent litigation—how the test set out in that case has enabled litigants and courts to obtain an early determination of whether a patent claims a viable invention or just an abstract idea. Parties who assert patents in...

What’s Your Damage, Apple?

The opinion of the Supreme Court is in, in Samsung v. Apple, and the news is not appetizing for Apple. Justice Sotomayor, writing for a unanimous Court, did just enough to (temporarily?) undo the $399–million verdict Apple had secured in this skirmish of the smartphone wars for infringement of its design patents. But the Court...

Supreme Court To Decide Which Exports Can Trigger Patent Infringement Liability For World–Wide Sales

The Supreme Court term is closing this week with a flurry of long-awaited, contested opinions on abortion, gun control, and government corruption. But intellectual property–minded court–watchers found interest in the Court’s decision to grant cert. (in part) in the case of Life Technologies v. Promega. While U.S. patent law is generally limited to domestic conduct,...

Supreme Court Rejects “Unduly Rigid” Federal Circuit Test For Enhanced Damages

There is a certain Groundhog Day–effect to many recent Supreme Court patent cases. The Supreme Court takes up a case challenging a legal test the Federal Circuit has created, rejects that test, and sends the case back to the lower court with an admonition not to be too rigid in its approach. In so doing,...