Patent Infringement

Case summaries and articles about patent infringement.

November 7, 2019
Pair of black and white Nike running shoes

Just Sue It: Nike Takes Skechers to Court For Copying Design Patents

Nike, Inc. v. Skechers U.S.A., Inc. – Nike claims that Skechers employs a “copying strategy” to sell “Skecherized versions” of Nike sneakers.
October 28, 2019
Flax seeds (or linseeds)

Foreign Prosecution History is Now Admissible in “Extraordinary Circumstances”

2019 FC 1233 – In a dispute over flax seeds, Canada's Federal Court says foreign prosecution history may be admissible under the new s. 53.1 of the Patent Act.
July 18, 2019
Mail, Postal service

US Postal Service Prohibited from Challenging Mail Sorting Patent

SCOTUS blocked US Postal Service from using proceedings under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”) to avoid litigation and invalidate a US Patent.
April 30, 2019
GUI on a computer monitor showing a stock performance

Stock Trading GUI Falls Short of Patentability Requirements in US

Fed. Cir. 2017-2257 - CAFC Reaffirms: GUI That Merely Collects and Displays Data Is Not Patentable
April 16, 2019
Photograph of stacks of coins

Canada Federal Court of Appeal Affirms Punitive Damages Award

2019 FCA 29 - Canada's FCA refuses to intervene in trial judge's decision with respect to punitive damages.
April 12, 2019
Photograph of a sunset over the trains in a trainyard.

Patentees May Bring Motion to Stay Proceedings Before the Commissioner to the FC

2019 FC 142 - FC confirms it may stay proceedings before federal board or commissions if elements of strict test are met.
April 4, 2019
White and blue pharmaceutical pills scattered on a surface

Actions Under Old PM(NOC) Regime Not Automatically Applicable to the New

2018 FC 1078 - Canada's Federal Court confirms that jurisprudence under previous PM(NOC) regime is not automatically applicable to the new.
January 23, 2019

SCOTUS Finds That Secret and Mere Existence of Sales May Invalidate Patents

586 U.S. ___ (2019) SCOTUS affirms CAFC's decision holding that if the existence of the sale is public, the invention does not need to be publicly disclosed to fall within the AIA’s on-sale bar.
December 18, 2018

FCA Reviews Doctrines of Claim Construction and Sufficient Disclosure

2018 FCA 172 – FCA affirms FC’s analysis on sufficient disclosure but quashes claim construction analysis.
December 4, 2018

The ONSC Dismisses Apotex’s Attempt to Revive the Promise Doctrine Under the Guise of Fraud

2018 ONSC 5199 – ONSC rejects Apotex’s attempt to recast Promise Doctrine under s. 53 fraud allegations.
November 7, 2018

US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Confirms Test for Obviousness

Fed. Cir. 2017-1977 – The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirms the legal standard for obviousness in patent law.
October 3, 2018

Federal Court Clarifies its Position on Protective Orders

2018 FC 956 – Federal Court confirms legal test applicable for protective orders, overturns Prothonotary's Order.
September 26, 2018

Federal Court Dismisses Motion for Early Dismissal of Action Brought Under the New PM(NOC) Regulations

2018 FC 694 – Federal Court confirms that motion for early dismissal will only be granted in the clearest of cases.
August 28, 2018

Law Firm Removed on Patent Infringement Action Due to Conflict of Interest

2017 FC 874 - Aitken Klee disqualified from representing Betser-Zelevitch because one of its partners had acted for Nexen in the same action, while at another law firm.
June 27, 2018
accounting

Defendants Are Not Entitled to Elect Accounting of Profits

2018 FCA 32 - The FCA dismissed Apotex’s appeal challenging the remedial decision, regarding Bayer's Canadian Patent No. 2,382,426, holding that subsection 57(1) of the Patent Act did not grant a defendant in a patent infringement suit the right to choose an accounting of profits over damages to be paid to the patentee.
April 3, 2018

Non-Infringing Alternative Defence Denied in Omeprazole Infringement Profit Case

2017 FC 726 - The FC held that Apotex did not satisfy the factual burden required to establish a hypothetically viable non-infringing substitute during the period of infringement, which could reduce the infringement profits owed to AstraZeneca.
December 12, 2017

Federal Court shoots down an attempted revival of the promise doctrine

2017 FC 774 - The FC granted Pfizer's order pursuant to Section 6 of the PM(NOC) Regulations, prohibiting the Minister of Health from issuing a NOC to Apotex, with respect to a Canadian patent The FC found, on a balance of probabilities, that Apotex’s allegations of obviousness, inutility, non-infringement, overpromising, anticipation and double patenting were not justified.
November 14, 2017
insomnia

Federal Court finds Insomnia-treating Drug Patent neither Invalid nor Infringed

2016 FC 1362 - The formulation patent for the insomnia-treating drug zolpidem was found to be substantially valid, but not infringed by Pharmascience's generic version of zolpidem.
August 29, 2017

Federal Court Awards Dow over $644 Million in Damages

2017 FC 637 - The FC addressed three outstanding issues in the calculation of damages and profits and ordered Nova to pay Dow over $644 million for infringing Dow's Canadian patent.
August 8, 2017

IPTV case shows that Interpretation of IT Patents may be 0’s or 1’s

2017 FC 6 - MediaTube brought allegations of infringement against Bell over one of its IT patents, asserting that Bell had infringed the patent with Bell’s IPTV services. The FC deemed the patent to be valid, but not infringed. Costs were decided in Bell’s favour and elevated to reflect the punitive damages claimed by MediaTube and the weak argument they had put forth.