Chapter 19 Outline

• Jurisdiction: United States

Chapter 19

Defenses to Patent Infringement

§19.01 Introduction

§19.02 Noninfringement

§19.03 Absence of Liability for Infringement

[A] License

[1] Express License

[2] Implied License

[B] Prior User Rights

[1] Pre-America Invents Act of 2011

[2] Post-America Invents Act of 2011

[C] Experimental/Research Use

[D] Expiration of Damages Limitation Period of 35 U.S.C. §286

[E] Laches and Equitable Estoppel in Initiating Patent Infringement Litigation

[1] Introduction

[a] Aukerman (Fed. Cir. 1992) ( en banc)

[b] Petrella (U.S. 2014)

[c] SCA Hygiene I (Fed. Cir. 2014)

[d] SCA Hygiene II (Fed. Cir. 2015) ( en banc)

[e] Supreme Court Eviscerates Patent Laches Defense in SCA Hygiene III (U.S. 2017)

[2] Laches Framework

[a] Elements

[i] Unreasonable Delay by Patentee

[ii] Material Prejudice to Accused Infringer

[b] "Should Have Known"

[3] Equitable Estoppel

[a] Introduction

[b] Elements

[c] Privity

[d] Misleading Communication

[e] Reasonable Reliance

[f] Relationship Between Patent Claims, Misleading Conduct, and Reliance Thereon

[F] State Sovereign Immunity

[G] Temporary Presence Exemption

[H] Patent Exhaustion

[1] Generally

[2] Unconditional Sale of Patented Product

[3] Conditioned Sale of Patented Product

[a] Federal Circuit Position

[i] Mallinckrodt (Fed. Cir. 1992)

[ii] Lexmark Int'l (Fed. Cir. 2016) ( en banc)

[b] Supreme Court Reversal: Impression Prods., Inc. v. Lexmark Int'l (2017)

[4] Application to Method Claims: Quanta (U.S. 2008)

[5] Self-Replicating Technology

[I] Lack of Standing to Sue

§19.04 Unenforceability

[A] Introduction

[B] Inequitable Conduct

[1] Acts or Omissions

[2] Materiality

[a] Materiality Standards Pre- Therasense (Fed. Cir. 2011) ( en banc)

[b] Materiality Standard Post- Therasense (Fed. Cir. 2011) ( en banc)

[i] "But For" Test

[a] No Allowance if USPTO Had Been Aware of Undisclosed Information

[b] Nondisclosure of Inconsistent Statements or Positions

[c] Nondisclosure of Prior Art

[d] Nondisclosure of Corroborating Evidence

[ii] "Affirmative Egregious Misconduct" Exception

[iii] Cumulative Information

[3] Intent to Deceive

[a] Generally

[b] Inferring Intent

[i] Generally

[ii] Adverse Inference of Intent to Deceive USPTO as Sanction for Litigation Misconduct

[c] Clear and

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