Over the past year, several important trends have developed that are particularly noteworthy for accused infringers in patent litigation. This presentation will examine the original U.S. Supreme Court decisions that started the trends, analyze statistics and decisions by jurisdiction that show the success of new strategies arising from those decisions, and consider how the trends may evolve further. The seminar will focus particularly on:
- The Supreme Court’s Alice v. CLS Bank decision and subsequent judicial decisions addressing the patentability of claims under 35 U.S.C. §101, with a further focus on procedural mechanisms for adjudicating §101 defenses at different stages of litigation and success rates by jurisdiction.
- The recent Federal Circuit decision in Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC et al., which significantly expanded the types of claims that can be interpreted as means-plus-function and therefore fall within the scope of 35 USC §112(f). During the past several months, defendants have achieved a high success rate arguing that claim limitations are governed by §112(f) even though they do not use the term “means,” which may give rise to additional non-infringement defenses and/or invalidity for indefiniteness.
- The Supreme Court’s decision in Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc., which relaxed the standard for district courts awarding attorneys’ fees in patent cases, with an overview of various statistics regarding the success rates of attorneys’ fees motions in various jurisdictions since Octane and the amount of fees awarded.
Orrick partners Robert Benson and Chris Broderick will discuss these current trends and explain how to best take advantage of these arguments when faced with a patent infringement lawsuit.
LOCATION: Orrick’s Orange County Office (2050 Main Street, Suite 1100 Irvine, CA)
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is an accredited MCLE provider in the State of California. This continuing legal education course has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the State Bar of California for a maximum of 1.0 credit hour, of which 1.0 credit hour can be applied to the general requirement.
QUESTIONS?
Please contact Meredith Coyne at 304-231-2256 or meredith.coyne@orrick.com.