2023
Mass. Federal Court Invalidates Eight Patents Asserted Against Wayfair
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsOn August 16, 2023, U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of the District of Massachusetts issued an order granting the vast majority of a motion to dismiss filed by Brann & Isaacson on behalf of its client, Wayfair. The plaintiff, a non-practicing entity called Alto Dynamics, asserted nine now expired patents against Wayfair in a...
Read More2019
David Swetnam-Burland Speaks to William & Mary Law Students
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsOn February 14, 2019, partner David Swetnam-Burland gave a presentation to the Student Intellectual Property Society at the William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia. Swetnam-Burland’s talk, “Bad Patents, Good Law?” addressed his experience defending Brann & Isaacson’s e–commerce clients in patent troll litigation, and discussed recent developments in patent law and litigation from...
Read More2017
J. Crew Wins Summary Affirmance In Patent Dispute With Intellectual Ventures
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsOn November 20, 2017, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals summarily affirmed the invalidity of two patents asserted against J. Crew by Intellectual Ventures without opinion, just two weeks after hearing oral argument from Partner David Swetnam–Burland. In August 2016, Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas granted J. Crew’s motion to dismiss...
Read More2017
Patent News Grab–Bag
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsSome news of note for this Valentine’s Day week: N.D. Cal. Orders Early Damages Disclosures: The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has amended its local patent rules to require the parties to (1) provide the court with a good–faith (non–binding) estimate of the damages range expected for the case at the...
Read More2015
Alice Strikes Twice In East Texas
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsAs a follow–up to yesterday’s post, we note that Judge Schroeder of the Eastern District of Texas also granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings under Alice v. CLS Bank on September 21. While two decisions do not a trend make, two decisions in one day send some kind of signal that Alice motions...
Read More2015
Alice Bounces eDekka Patent In East Texas
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsThe judges of the Eastern District of Texas have not been the most welcoming in the country to the early application of Alice v. CLS Bank—the Supreme Court opinion that lays out the two–step test for determining whether a patent should be voided because it claims abstract ideas, not inventions—in patent litigation. But the winds...
Read More2015
Alice Needs A Judicial Visa To Enter East Texas
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsEast Texas continues to stand out among federal judicial districts for its (contrarian) approach to patent cases. Where the judges in other judicial districts have found the Supreme Court opinion in Alice v. CLS Bank a useful tool to use early in cases to weed out patents that shouldn’t have been granted—you can see a...
Read More2015
No Welcome Mat for Alice in East Texas After All?
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsA month ago, we highlighted the case of Clear With Computers v. Volvo Construction Equipment, in which Judge Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas granted a defense motion to dismiss for lack of patentable subject matter. We saw the application of Alice v. CLS Bank in a ruling on an early dispositive motion in...
Read More2015
The Alice Penny Drops In East Texas
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 CommentsAs we wrote last month, the early stats suggest that Alice v. CLS Bank has changed the landscape of patent litigation, with a 69% win rate for accused infringers on motions seeking a judgment that an asserted patent is not directed to patentable subject matter. One of the bigger open questions is what reception Alice...
Read More2015
Patent Reform Is Back…Alice Is Big…The PTO Is Unmasked
David Swetnam-Burland / 0 Comments…and, we’re back, with a post–hibernation blitz of patent news… Patent reform, it’s back too. Virginia Congressman Bob Goodlatte has reintroduced the patent reform bill that died in the Senate last year. The bill’s provisions are designed to pare back patent troll litigation. It would (1) require the plaintiff to identify the patent–owner before filing...
Read More