IP Newsflash

During a Markman hearing, a judge in the Eastern District of North Carolina denied a plaintiff’s request that the defendant be judicially estopped from arguing claim constructions that were different from positions the defendant took in inter partes review (IPR) proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).

The Federal Circuit reversed a summary judgment order of infringement after interpreting an asserted claim of U.S. Patent No. 9,736,689 (the “ʼ689 Patent”) more narrowly than the district court. In short, the district court erred when, and despite claim language to the contrary, it treated certain claim elements as “optional” in an effort to cover all disclosed embodiments. Because the patentee did not offer evidence of infringement under the correct construction, the Federal Circuit ordered the district court to enter summary judgment of noninfringement.

A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia granted defendant Amazon.com, Inc.’s motion for attorneys’ fees under 35 U.S.C. § 285, ordering plaintiff Innovation Sciences, LLC to pay over $700,000 in fees that accrued after the court’s Markman order.

On February 14, 2017, Judge Chhabria of the Northern District of California granted, in part, Apple’s motion to exclude the expert report of Unwired Planet’s survey expert, Dr. Allenby. Dr. Allenby was hired to conduct a consumer survey to assess the value of the claimed method for “provisioning” a mobile communication device. This process involves the mobile communication device connecting with a server and being authenticated to allow the user access to certain services. According to the decision, Dr. Allenby’s report, however, relied on Unwired Planet’s proposed definition of “provisioning,” and not the court’s construction. The expert had defined the term “provisioning” to mean something akin to “providing;” however, the court’s construction was far narrower.