At the end of this month, I will be heading to the Colorado Rockies for the Annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute. It will be my fourth year in a row attending and presenting at the Institute, which is consistently one of the two best CLE programs that I attend. I will be speaking
Joint Infringement: A Key Issue for Retailers in Patent Litigation
Joint patent infringement has become a common defense for retailers and their vendors in patent litigations. Particularly with internet and software technologies, the retailer or the vendor alone cannot perform all of the steps of a method or do not have all of the hardware required of the system. Of course, joint infringement has been
Rocky Mountain IP Conference: How Judges See Patent Litigation (Part II)
In June, I spent several days attending the 9th Annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute. In addition to two days of excellent continual legal education and meeting many interesting people, I also spoke with in-house counsel from Microsoft and Hewlett Packard about how to limit fees in intellectual property litigation (more on that
Rocky Mountain IP Conference: How Judges See Patent Litigation
In early June, I attended the 9th Annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute. In addition to two days of excellent continual legal education and meeting many interesting people, I also spoke with in-house counsel from Microsoft and Hewlett Packard about how to limit fees in intellectual property litigation (more on that panel soon). For those who are looking for some high quality continuing legal education, that is in a beautiful location, you should come to the 10th Annual Rocky Mountain IP & Technology Institute next June. It is one of the two best CLE programs I have ever attended.
One of the highlights of the Institute was a panel of sitting and retired federal judges sharing their views on intellectual property litigation, with a focus upon patent litigation. What follows is the beginning of the highlights. There was simply too much information to digest it in a single post. So, this post begins with the thoughts from Judge Philip Brimmer (D. Col.) and retired Judge James Rosenbaum (D. Minn.). In an upcoming post, I will provide the highlights of the thoughts from the two other panelists, Magistrate Judge Boland (D. Col.) and retired Judge McKelvie (D. Del.).
Hon. Philip Brimmer (D. Col.):
- Encourages pursuing motions to dismiss for failure to sufficiently plead patent claims, but if there is an easy amendment you should confer with plaintiff first.
- In a fairly technical case, Judge Brimmer values a technical presentation. And video is the best format because he can view it in chambers several times and let it sink in. Generally, each side submits a separate video. Occasionally, one is more polished, but that does not mean it is more instructive.
- Law clerks are the critical audience for briefs. They read, digest and analyze briefs all day.
- The trend is toward applying eBay v. MercExchange to all IP cases. The Second Circuit’s recent Catcher in the Rye case, regarding Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye copyright, highlights the trend. So, as a practitioner you should not be relying solely upon a presumption of irreparable harm.
- In Colorado, there is a bias against stays pending reexams because they delay cases.
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